Howdy Doody

The Geppetto Project

Chapters 37-38

Chapter Thirty Seven

Vespers: Green Tree Style

On most mornings, the boys and girls were wide awake and showering within five minutes. On this particular Sunday morning, the exceptions inhabited the three cabin group of campers known by all in camp as "The mafia" for their tendency to stick very closely together and function as a group of three dozen extremely active co-conspirators. Having returned from an overnight hike the day before, they were sound asleep by 9:00 the night before and needed every minute of the ten hours of sleep they received.

Adam's eye's opened as Carla moved her counselors arm off his chest and replaced it with her body and the 11 year old still half asleep. A cold and clammy ass told Adam that either the girl herself had wet, or, one of the four other campers sprawled across the bed had produced a damp spot for her to sleep in sometime during the night. Neither she nor her partner-in- crime Jeannie wet often, but it was never impossible. Adam reached down and pulled a comforter up and over the girl as she snuggled in just a little deeper.

"Did we have a dream about taking a leak off Look-out Point last night?" Adam asked the girl as he rubbed her buns to bring them back up to proper temperature. Carla giggled as Adam kissed the top of her head.

"I think it was Joey. He was sleeping next to me last night." She replied.

"So was Trevor!" Joey now said not wanting to take full responsibility.

"Ain't mine, I pee'd down here." Trevor replied as he yawned deeply and stretched his body out.

"Are you goin' to Vespers today Uncle Adam?" Joey now asked. Adam closed his eye's "With your Uncle Sid up in Massachusetts's, I guess I'll have to." Adam replied.

"Good! Uncle Peter is gonna have Vespers outside and we're gonna build our own kite's and fly them!" Trevor said.

"Great." Adam said unenthusiastically.

Like Adam himself, Uncle Peter was an outside uncle at Camp Green Tree. The man had come to the camp eight years before Adam, and was now just passed his 10th year as a counselor/teacher. At 48, Peter was an extremely popular member of the staff, both with the campers as well as the rest of the staff.

As a college student, Peter had Graduated Georgetown University and went on to Seminary School and became a Priest. He then got caught up in the hysteria and legal money machine. Any misfit adult could blame their own shortcomings on the "Horrible sexual abuse" that they "Endured" for years as children. In the meantime, the lawyers grew fantastically rich off these "Victims" who now got fucked once again, this time by the legal machine.

Now charged with abuse, Peter made a serious attempt at suicide and his family contacted his old college friend, Sid. Once Alexandria was convinced by Sid and Bert that Peter would be a valuable asset to The Program, the now defrocked Priest was removed from the care and custody of the State and disappeared from their radar into the Federal Witness Protection Program and Green Tree School and Camp.

While none of the staff was particularly religious in nature (Some might even say agnostic), they did believe that a core belief in a Supreme Being, even if it was Daffy Duck, would not hurt the children and might even be beneficial or comforting.

Now, it fell to Uncle Peter to be their Spiritual Leader. For his charges, the closest thing they knew as God was probably Santa Claus. (Sid was always trying to convince them that Eric Clapton was the one, true God.) Peter's faith had been sorely tested by both his church and by the authorities, but he did still believe in God. His new ministry he knew would never in a billion years be accepted by the Pope, but then again, Peter wasn't all that enamored by the hitler youth movement either, so he considered himself and the new Pontiff to be somewhat equal.

"Church" at Green Tree was now an extremely broad and liberal term under Peter's Devine direction.

Since Sid was gone, it fell to Adam to take his place which included being a positive role model for the campers. Adam, smiled at this notion, but Sid did pack the pews when he attended Vespers, and that was the goal. Nobody ever knew which direction Vespers were going to go in, but Adam also knew silly shit like "Wretch like me" was off the table. Fire and brimstone was out; peace, harmony and loving your fellow Geppetto boy was in.

A small commotion on Adam's opposite side now drew the man's attention. Looking over, Adam watched as Jeannie was draped half across Sammy's chest as the boy now began his morning stretch ritual. Adam smiled to himself as the 11 year old girl's head rose higher off the bed as Sammy arched his back as his arms and legs stretched to get the nights kinks out of his body. As straight as his body was, so was the boys penis as it too stretched straight towards the ceiling of the cabin. Knowing that it wasn't impossible for the boy to decide to let go of his bladder and start a fountain flowing, Adam gently pulled on Jeannie's arm and dragged her off Sammy towards himself.

"If Sammy let's go of the fire hose, somebody's going to be receiving an early shampooing." He said as Carla now turned her head and looked towards Sammy who still had his eye's shut, but was stirring.

"How come boys always gots big boners in the morning?" the girl asked as she giggled.

"Gots?" Adam asked the girl.

"Have" Carla replied somewhat annoyed. Adam smiled once more as he stroked the girls back and massaged his way up the girls spinal cord.

"Because they have a full bladder which puts pressure down there." Adam replied.

"But you said that a boys dick gets hard because it's from blood pressure. What does piss got to do with blood?" Carla asked. Adam shook his head.

"Ask your Aunt Sarah or Aunt Martha in the Infirmary." Adam replied.

"That means he don't know." Trevor now said.

Adam's feet found the boy at the end of the bed and slowly moved him off as the boy giggled wildly.

"Time for showers smart ass." Adam said as Trevor hit the rug at the base of the bed.

With the signal now given, the comforter went flying as Carla scooted herself off the bed along with Joey.

"Time for showers sleepy head." Adam said to Jeannie as he kissed the girl's hair.

"I'm gonna go to Vespers with you." Jeannie now said as she reached up and kissed Adam.

"Because of the kites?" Adam asked. The girl smiled and then giggled, but said nothing as she got off the bed and closed the bedroom door behind her. Now alone with Sammy, the best part of Adam's day would begin once again as it did almost every morning for the past two years.

Reaching over, Adam pulled Sammy on top of himself as the boys legs dropped alongside Adam's body. Reaching down to his groin, the boy pulled his penis straight up and settled back down on Adam's stomach now happy that his penis was no longer being squashed. All need for talk ceased as Adam massaged the boy from the back of his knee's to his neck and back again as the man felt the boys penis flex occasionally on his stomach.

Sammy never needed to tell Adam when it was time to stop, he merely lifted his left leg into the folded position knowing his counselor and teacher would now take him to places he longed for him to go. Sammy's friends knew how to play with each other: Sammy's counselor knew how to make love to him and he very well knew the difference between the two.

One of the few exceptions to the bugle awakening was the Executive Director of the Camp/School. Bert usually awoke automatically between five and six in the morning, and this morning was no different. After receiving a call sometime around 10:00 the previous night from his Assistant Director who was in Massachusetts's with a small group from the camp, Bert went to bed rather early. Now, it was 5:00 in the morning and he lay in bed in his cabin alongside his girl friend Helen wide awake.

The only sound coming from the cabin was the very distinct sound of deep breathing coming from the bedroom next door. Quietly getting out of bed so as not to awaken Helen, Bert put on his bathrobe and looked into the room. Sandwiched securely between two girls, Bert's ward Christopher lay sleeping with his hands under his face for a pillow. A mouth breather even when awake, Christopher was destined to be a heavy snorer and was well on his way at age 12.

Developmentally, physically, and mentally challenged, the boy who was all but mute was the only child of his kind at Green Tree and was arguably the most protected child in the State of North Carolina. He had four senior girls watching over his daytime activities and another 595 or so people around him that paid close attention to him whenever he was in their vicinity. Like most of the boys at Green Tree, Christopher had spent years in the State's custody and in foster care and knew the routine abuse and neglect that always befell those children. Now, he was a resident of Green Tree; he had passed into heaven from hell.

By Bert's calculation, he had about 15 minutes or so of time alone before the boy awoke. Once that happened, Christopher would not be still again until he fell to sleep exhausted some 14 or so hours later. Walking downstairs and into his office, Bert sat down to a stack of papers that required his "Immediate" attention. 600 people can sometimes create paperwork, and Bert was just happy they didn't all do it at once (Most of the time).

The tell-tale sound of a child stomping his way downstairs about 20 minutes later told Bert that Christopher was ready to do battle with the day. Putting a pile of papers into a folder, Bert stood up as Christopher waddled into the office dragging a large stuffed lima with two foot arms behind him.

"Good morning pal. Did you have a nice sleep?" Bert asked the boy as Bert bent down and picked the boy up.

"Hey." Christopher replied in his usual way as he gave Bert a bear hug and a soggy kiss. Not waiting for the boy to ask, Bert headed for the kitchen to get the boy something to drink.

"Milk or juice?" Bert asked as he opened the refrigerator door.

"Rink!" Christopher replied as he bent over and touched the milk container with his finger.

Now plunking the boys bare ass on the counter, Bert took out a plastic cup and started pouring the milk.

"Show Uncle Bert the sign for milk." Bert told the boy as he poured.

"Rink." Christopher said as he made the sign.

"That's the sign for "Drink" Christopher. Show me the sign for milk. Bert repeated.

"Muck?" Christopher asked as he simulated milking a cow with two hands. Bert smiled and repeated the sign "Yes, Milk." He told the boy. After another soggy kiss, Bert handed Christopher the cup of milk that went down in about five gulps.

"More?" Christopher asked as he handed Bert back the cup with milk dripping down his stomach.

"OK, then we take a nice warm shower." Bert said as he poured another cup.

With Christopher now on Bert's hip and the man waiting for the water to heat up, Bert was very proud of Christopher for not taking a piss on his office floor or in the kitchen while getting the boy his morning drink. In another few seconds, the water would warm up sufficiently for him to put the boy down, and if Christopher then decided to let the dam break, so be it.

Not quite so! Without warning, Bert's hip and leg became almost hot.

A lot hotter than the shower water was up to that point in time. Bert guessed the temperature to be right around 98.6 [37.0°C ] as he looked into Christopher's face as the boy smiled back at him.

"I-eee?" Christopher asked.

"I-eee my ass, how about pee pee time?" Bert asked the boy.

"Pee pee?" Christopher asked as he backed his stomach away from Bert's side and watched the yellow river bubble up from his groin.

"Pee pee?" Christopher asked as he put the tip of his finger into the small pool of water.

"Yeah."

Bert replied as he shook his head.

Once showering was finished, Bert put on a pair of shorts for himself and held up a pair of bib overalls for Christopher. The boy looked at the pants and shook his head.

"Oww?"

He now asked as he pointed to the front screen door. Bert threw the overalls onto the couch as Christopher stood by the front door excitedly. Almost every morning he went to the Mess Hall with Bert, and that meant a fistful or two of fresh fruit or a banana, some juice, and if he was really lucky, a jelly donut or two. Or three.

John gets his new school.

With the Mess Hall only about 300 feet [90 m] or so away from Bert's cabin, the early morning visit was always walked by the two instead of taking one of the golf cart's that was always available. Still pitch black out with no sound but for a rooster up on the hill crowing his balls off and the sounds of people setting tables and cooking food, Bert watched as Christopher skipped his way along while holding onto Bert's hand dragging the man along. Once within feet of the Mess Hall door, Bert let the boys hand go as Christopher now went into a fast trot.

"Christopher on deck!" a Mess boy yelled out as the front screen door slammed shut and a naked, smiling, three foot, four inch [1 m] tall tower of mischievous terror looked around for something to eat. As every Mess boy with an once of brains knew, a Christopher with hands full was a Christopher less likely to topple a stack of plates, or a tray full of glasses. Within three seconds, Christopher was holding a large plastic bowl full of green grapes as Bert entered.

"Morning boys, did you all make it off the lake before midnight?" Bert asked the Senior boys knowing that it was highly unlikely.

"Yes, Uncle Bert." A chorus of voices came back.

"In a pig's ass!" The Harvard Graduate in Child Psychology replied to a chorus of giggles.

Walking into the kitchen, Bert would have had to have been blind not to notice the very apprehensive glances he was receiving from several cooks he passed on his way to the rear of the building where the Chef had an office as well as a small table set up.

"He's with me." Bert said to no one in particular as all the cooks now looked around their stations for un attended knives, hot foods near the ends of tables, open ovens or food cooking on the front burners. The doors to both the Bakery and the dish room now closed and were locked. Christopher was in the house.

"You guys are going to give the boy a complex. He's going to think you don't trust him." Bert told his Chef as he accepted a fresh cup of coffee from a Mess boy.

"We don't Uncle Bert!" The Mess boy replied. Bert shook his head as the Chef laughed and the Mess boy beat a hasty retreat.

"I heard from Sid last night, all is well up there." Bert said as he handed the Chef a folder.

"I also heard from Doctor Lester. He's going full bore with your proposal to start an internship for the Senior boys. He wants to present a proposal to the full Board of Trustee's of The Institute at the next Board meeting. His people will formulate and organize the proposal so that it meets their criteria, but he wants us to tell them what we envision the program will look like and what we expect to need to see it through." Bert said "When is the next Board meeting?" Chef John asked as he looked at the folder.

"Three weeks." Bert replied.

"I know how this shit goes down. They're going to want to know every detail from how much toilet paper you're going to need to the printing costs for the Graduation ceremony. Doctor Lester is having a friend in the Economics Department at Harvard hand the problem over to his students as an academic exercise, but they need some basic information to start from. Our best bet is to work closely with Adam and Dave on this end. Adam can give us some good numbers, and Dave is our best source for the infrastructure and support needs that you're going to face." Bert told the man.

"How soon before the program can be in place?" John asked.

"Doctor Lester expects it to be up and running this Fall. Alexandria doesn't want you back in Florida before the threat of hurricanes is over. They'll allow the island to be used by the boys from December 1st to June 30th. Then they want you out of there and back here." Bert replied.

"That's only seven months!" John said.

"7 months of learning; five months of putting it to practical use." Bert suggested.

"Where would they live? You know damned well if we take 150 boys away from here, the Institute is going to re fill those beds faster than we can spit." John told his boss.

"Dave has no problems with building a new Senior boys campus out past the new Canteen building in the East Woods. He's already made up the plans for the Corp of Engineers to build the pre-fab sections over in the FEMA Depot and have them constructed on-site." Bert replied as a quiet hush now took over in the kitchen.

Turning around, Bert once again had to smile to himself as Christopher, flanked on each side by a Mess boy, strolled into the kitchen oblivious to the look of deep concern now etched on the faces of the kitchen crew who were all watching the boy with a mouth full of grapes like he was about to explode.

"How's my little butter-ball?" John asked the boy as he lifted Christopher up. Never letting go of his bowl, Christopher pushed the bowl towards John's face "Some?" he asked the Chef.

"Thank you." The chef replied as he took one of the grapes.

"He's been spitting the grapes back into the bowl Uncle John." one of the Mess boys now advised the man. John looked into the bowl and shook his head.

"I guess I won't die." He said as he now looked at the grape and popped it into his mouth. Christopher's routine hug and kiss came for the Chef next as grapes tumbled to the floor.

"Rink?" he now asked.

"Don't you ever give this kid something to drink? He always comes in here dehydrated!" John asked Bert as he put the boy down in a chair.

"Very funny!" Bert replied as a Mess boy automatically now went to get Christopher something to drink as the child watched him intently from his seat.

Producing a glass of pineapple juice with a cherry in it, both Mess boys now looked at Chef John silently. With a nod of his head, both boys backed away from the table as the kitchen began to come back to life with the sound of cooking. John now watched as a full tumbler of juice found its way down Christopher's throat without a pause on the boys part. Once again, he shook his head. Pulling a box of crayon's and some blank paper out of his drawer, John put the material in front of Christopher who now busied himself coloring as the conversation with Bert resumed.

"So what you're saying is that we have about four months to prepare." John said. Bert nodded.

"Once we get the go-ahead we can make whatever adjustments you need to the kitchen down there. How much renovation do you think it'll take?" Bert asked.

"I need a teaching kitchen and not a working kitchen like its configured now. I have some plans back at my cabin. It's mostly the appliances, plumbing, fire protection and gas lines that are going to have to be reconfigured into individual work stations." John said.

Bert listened to his Chef and once more nodded.

"Let Adam figure out the costs and Dave can get a crew down there to do the installation." Bert replied.

"He can do a lot of it, but Vulcan is going to insist upon doing the installation and they're going to want LaFrance or Kiddie to put in the fire system. They won't even consider putting their stoves in unless we have certified people from the gas company hooking up the stoves." John said.

"You don't think Dave can do it?" Bert asked.

"Sure he can. But if he does, you won't see any stove company I know selling us their equipment!" the Chef replied as he drank his coffee.

"So we get the place completely empty and give them two months to get the job done." Bert concluded.

"Works for me!" John replied.

Walking back outside, Bert looked down at Christopher who was now doing some serious damage to a chocolate covered, cream filled donut that John handed the child behind Bert's back as the two left the kitchen. It was almost an hour away from reveille, and too early to awaken Helen and the girls. Bert decided to return to his cart and take a ride up the hill to the girls camp and Gloria's cabin.

With the stars still shining and Christopher steering the cart from Bert's lap, the two crested the hill that over looked the ball fields and the cabins of Camp Kenny that were nestled in the woods along the perimeter.

"I-eee!" Christopher exclaimed with a shrill.

"Sshh!" Bert told the boy as he stopped the cart. Probably six to eight doe along with four or 5

fawns stood watching them on the opposite end of the camp. Nibbling the grass, the fawns pretty much ignored Bert and Christopher as the doe's tried to figure out whether they were in danger or not. Keeping Christopher quiet was no easy task, but Bert somehow convinced the boy not to go bounding out of the cart to go pet the deer.

"Bambi?" He asked quizzically.

"Yes Christopher. Keep very quiet or they'll go back into the woods." Bert whispered into the boys ear.

"Hey!" Christopher replied not so quietly but pretending to whisper anyway.

On the opposite end of the field, Bert's attention was drawn towards the stable area where more than a few dozen horses now grazed oblivious to the human's presence.

Knowing the reaction in advance, Bert twisted a little in his seat to shield the view of the horses from Christopher.

"Horsey!" Christopher now screamed as he jumped to his feet in the cart and pointed toward the deer. Bert closed his eyes as the deer all bolted for the woods. Left behind was four month old Baron, the colt of Maria the huge Belgian mare owned by David.

"So much for watching the deer." Bert said as he pulled Christopher back into his lap and moved forward.

Bert pulled up to the colt who was perennially looking for a hand-out.

"Sorry Moochie. If I would have known you had busted out of the Corral, I would have brought you a treat." Bert told the horse as he sniffed both Bert and Christopher. Probably disgusted with the lack of manners on the part of the human's, the horse went back to his grass as his mother now walked over to the trio. Moving herself protectively between the cart and her colt, the huge Belgian went back to her breakfast snack as Baron took a sip from mom.

"Rink?' Christopher asked the Director.

"Yes, just like a baby." Bert told the boy.

"Babee?" Christopher asked in his usual way of ending a word on a much higher note. With a kiss to the side of Christopher's neck, Bert pulled away from the Belgian's as the boy waved goodbye blowing them kisses as he usually did to people around him.

Bert stopped by the corral fence that was now lying on the ground. In all likelihood, the mare decided to scratch herself during the night, and at close to 3,000 pounds [1,400 kg], the fence didn't stand a chance. Once she showed the way, a few dozen others gleefully followed her out onto the ball fields and greener pasture's.

"Your Uncle Dave is just gonna love this!" Bert said to Christopher as the two continued on their journey.

Now approaching 6:30, Bert and Christopher entered Gloria's cabin. As the Director of the Girls Camp, Gloria was in charge of the Pine Ridge campus, and lived with her four year old ward Timmy, and her two senior girl assistants. No one was yet awake as Bert pointed towards a small pile of toys on the back porch.

"Play nice Christopher, Uncle Bert will be in the kitchen." He told the boy softly.

"Hey!" Christopher replied in his usual way of agreement.

"Is Uncle Sid OK?" Gloria asked as the girl wrapped her robe around herself walking into the kitchen. Giving the girl a kiss good morning, Bert resumed making a pot of coffee.

"He's fine. I heard from him last night and all's going well up there. We just had a little time to kill, so we decided to drop in on you." Bert said.

"We?" Gloria asked.

"My little shadow is out on the porch." Bert replied with a smile.

"Why is he so quiet? Is he sick?" Gloria asked as she sat down at the table. Bert shook his head.

"Just because he's not raising hell doesn't mean he's not feeling well." Bert replied.

"He has his quiet moments." Gloria smiled a bit.

"When?" She asked her boss.

Before Bert had the opportunity to answer, four year old Timmy waddled into the kitchen. Bert was much too smart to address the boy; Timmy had a tendency to be anti-social for the first five or ten minutes of his morning and the only thing the boy was interested in communicating with was a nursing breast, preferably Gloria's. Now climbing into Gloria's lap, the boy unceremoniously undid the sash of Gloria's bathrobe and latched onto the girls breast as she wrapped the boys body back up. Except for the back of Timmy's head, he was now invisible to the world as he straddled his caretaker's stomach.

It was several minutes before the coffee was done and Bert sat down.

"How's he doing with his special pants?" Bert asked as he fixed Gloria's coffee.

"Better than expected. His level of concentration at play with the other kids is excellent and he's not lashing out in frustration or annoyance nearly as much as he use to." She reported. "Two weeks ago, the only kids who would play with him was Kenny and some of the older kids in Camp Kenny. Now, his peers seem to sense that he's much happier with himself." She told Bert as the man took mental notes and nodded.

"We're short staffed as hell without Sid, Thomas and Jeanette here. Until we get back up to full strength, let's cancel the morning staff meetings so we can keep our people out in the field." Bert now said.

"If any problems come up, we'll have to handle them on a case by case basis. How comfortable are you with the Camp Kenny coverage?" Bert asked the girl.

"We've got Helen, Johanna, Beth and Stephanie staying very close to Camp Kenny and an extra senior girl in every cabin on the hill. 15 people covering for Jeanette and Sid should be ample." Gloria replied with a smile.

As Timmy exchanged an empty breast for a full one, Christopher now appeared in the kitchen carrying an extremely large fire truck. With a crash, the fire truck was abandoned once the boy spotted the very large lump on Gloria's lap that was now completely enveloped in her robe.

"Babee?" Christopher asked as he put a fingertip on Timmy's back. Gloria shook her head.

"No Christopher, not a baby, it's Timmy." She told the boy.

As Timmy's hand came around his back and swept Christopher's finger away, Christopher now reached for the robe pulling it apart.

"Baby!" he exclaimed with a broad smile as Timmy's torso now came into view. A plenty pissed off Timmy now jerked the robe back across himself as Gloria wrapped the boy back up.

"Timmy's drinking his milk right now Christopher, he doesn't want to be disturbed." Bert told the boy as he reached out and put Christopher in his lap.

As Reveille blew, Bert prepared to leave.

"Before I forget, you've been invited to a tea party this morning on the hill. It's set for 10:30 at the Kiddie pool." Gloria now told her boss.

"I've got a ton of stuff I've got to get done." Bert replied.

"Yes, and one of them is to attend the tea party." Gloria said as she got up.

"Have a nice day Uncle Bert." She said as gave the man another kiss and took Timmy upstairs for a shower.

"Aren't you happy you live with the man who runs this place and gets to make all the really important decisions around here?" Bert asked Christopher as he walked down the stairs with the boy in his arms.

"Happy?" Christopher asked. Bert smiled and shook his head.

"That's what I thought." Bert said as he kissed the boy on the end of his nose.

Driving back though the girls campus, Bert now knew he'd be "Running the Gauntlet" as he passed the cabins that were full of girls between the ages of eight and 18 who inhabited the cabins. Making this trip either immediately after Reveille, or after Return to Quarters blew at 5:00, which always meant shower time, was not the best time in the day to be making this trip: Unless of course he wanted to see little girls running around in their Birthday suits.

For over a year now, when the younger inhabitants knew a male was on campus, especially a staff male, it was time to get "Accidentally" seen naked by that male, even if you had to hurry to get undressed and run out on the trail in front of the cabin. In the beginning, the bulk of the girls were the eight and nine year olds. As time progressed, the ten to 12 year olds grew bolder. Christopher had no clue why the girls had high pitched screams forewarning the next cabin up the line to prepare, but since it was some brand of mayhem, he liked the idea as he tried his best to crash into every bush, flower and boulder he passed along the trail. He cared nothing about little girls' naked bodies, or anybody else's for that matter, but he sure as hell did revel in anarchy.

Once the cart pulled out of Pine Ridge, the relative tranquility of Camp Kenny came back into view as Bert headed across the open fields towards the cabins that dotted the perimeter of Camp Kenny. Formally the cabins of the Intermediate boys, the cabins were now inhabited by Green Trees youngest residents, both boys and girls between the ages of four to seven years old: These children were the Crown Jewels of Green Tree.

Passing the stables, the stable boys from the senior camp as well as Dave and his crew were rounding up the horses and repairing the fence. Normally, the fields in front of the cabins would have been empty of campers so early in the morning, but with the horses out, it was party time as dozens of campers ran around in their pajama's, underwear and Birthday suits chasing after the horses. Once they spotted Bert pulling up in front of Sarah's cabin that game was ended as they mobbed the camps Director like he was Santa Claus coming to town.

From the staff's prospective, Bert's arrival during this critical time schedule-wise was most unwelcome. They had about 45 minutes between Reveille and the call to Assembly to get the campers up, showered, dressed, and out the door for Flagpole, and Bert's presence stopped most everything in it's tracks.

"Good morning Uncle Bert, what brings you here?" Sarah asked the man as she gave him a kiss. Carrying four year old Catherine on one hip and six year old Scotty on the other,

Bert sat down on the front porches top step as Christopher whizzed past the group and headed inside the cabin.

"We got an early start on the morning, and I stopped in for a chat with Gloria on Pine Ridge. How are things going here?" Bert asked the girl as he was now swamped by campers who all wanted a good morning hug and kiss.

"They started off with a bang once the horses were discovered trying to climb the front steps." She replied.

"We might be a little late for Flagpole." She added. Bert nodded.

"I'll let John in the kitchen know." He said as a disturbance in the kitchen brought seven year old Caleb out onto the front porch like a shot.

"Christopher spilled a container of juice all over the floor Aunt Sarah!" The boy exclaimed as he headed straight for Bert. Sarah breathed a deep sigh as she looked at Caleb's dry body which was now wrapped around Bert's like a starfish holding onto a clam.

"Time for showers Caleb. We have Flagpole in less than 30 minutes." she told the boy as she went back into the cabin.

As one of the original Green Tree girls who had been raised there, Sarah was the camps L.P.N. and worked in the Infirmary. At 24 years of age, she was considered a Senior Staff member, and as part of the Administration. With two senior girls assisting her, she lived with six campers, three girls, and three boys. As with all cabins, each has a name, and they knew their home as "Tweety."

Sarah now walked into the kitchen with Julia mopping up a quart of pineapple juice and Christopher standing off to the side with both hands to his face covering his mouth. Sarah recognized the stance; Christopher next expected to get his ass kicked in.

"Good morning Christopher, did we have an accident?" she asked as she bent down and gave the boy a kiss on the cheek.

"I-eee?" Christopher replied slightly trembling.

"He took it out of the refrigerator and it dropped on the floor." A six year old named Matthew now said.

"Oh well, we'll just clean it up and get some more. Would you like some juice Christopher?" Sarah asked the boy with a smile.

"Hey." Christopher replied as the color in his face began to return. Pouring out a few small tumblers of juice, Sarah watched the boy drink the juice with a still shaking hand. It both saddened her and pissed her off at the same time. The boy was incapable of telling the story of his abuse in foster care, but it was plainly visible whenever he thought he had done something wrong and was about to get punished.

Knowing full well it was going to turn her schedule upside down, Sarah now asked Christopher if he wanted to take showers with the rest of the cabin. All three of her boys were six and seven years old, which was roughly Christopher's mental as well as physical age. Even though he was 12, his body looked more like a seven or eight year olds.

His play preferences were also within this age group, and he spent most of his day with these children. Once the offer was made, Christopher galloped outside to the front porch and Bert.

"You want to take another bath?" Bert asked the boy as Christopher made the sign for washing.

"Hey!" the boy exclaimed as his eyes glimmered in the early morning sun.

"Did Aunt Sarah ask you to?" Bert asked the boy. Another "Hey." greeted the man.

"OK, go ahead." Bert told the boy as Christopher gave the man a hug and kiss.

"You sure you want to do this?" Bert asked as Sarah returned to the front porch.

"It's probably the fastest way to get them back to the showers. Even Catherine and Samantha will follow him." The girl said.

"He was quite upset just now for something as benign as spilling some juice. Do you think he's ever going to forget his past?" Sarah now asked.

"It's hard to say. He seems to have strong memory retention which can be both a positive and a negative for him. When fear is triggered in him it obviously brings all the bullshit he's gone though right back up to the surface. He doesn't really have a concept of past and present; it's something we need to find a way to instill in him. Once Sid and Jeanette come back we'll sit down and brainstorm it." Bert said as Sarah nodded.

"I'll have the girls meet you at Flagpole." Bert told Sarah as he walked down the steps.

"See you at the tea party!" Sarah replied as Bert shook his head.

On Bert's way down off the hill he met Helen who was coming up. She didn't think that leaving Christopher at Tweety was the smartest idea Bert ever came up with.

"She's swamped! He can be a handful even with staff double teaming him Bert; what were you thinking?" she asked the Director.

"First of all, she has three aids for six kids. That's a two to 1 ratio. The Intermediates have a six to 1 ratio. We're also talking about a Green Tree girl." Bert replied slightly defensively.

"I thought all the girls were now Green Tree girls. Are you saying that the Green Tree girls are better than Pine Ridge girls?" she asked. Bert sat back and could envision sleeping on the couch for a few nights if he didn't get the answer right.

"Helen, the original Green Tree girls have spent half their lives taking care of boys. Most have Degrees in Early Childhood Education. Pine Ridge girls will catch up, but they've only been at it for a little over a year. Is a girl who's been working with boys now for the past ten years just a little more prepared?" Bert asked.

"Trust me; if Sarah didn't think it was a good idea, she'd tell me to get fucked faster than Sid would. Besides, she came up with the invitation: I didn't pawn Christopher off on her." Bert said.

Now semi calm as most women can get when they know that they are right and you are wrong, Helen proceeded up the hill as Bert continued down it shaking his head once more. He knew he would regain control of the camp, he just didn't know when.

Just Another Day In Paradise

Morning and Evening Flagpole at camp was more of an occasion to relate the day's activities to the campers than it was to simply raise the camps flag and the cabin flag of that weeks Inspection winner. Adam had long since given up any hope of ever seeing Beachviews flag flying on the pole. Whether he liked it or not, his cabin was Grand Central Station to the campers and keeping it clean enough to win Cabin Inspection was out of the question. As he and the boys shaded their eyes from the rays of the rising sun that were reflecting off the lake, both flags reached the top of the pole as the bugler blew To the Colors.

Being a Sunday, there were very few announcements to be made, but still, the most important were from Patty who announced the names of the campers who would be horse back riding after Rest Period. Dispite the fact that Green Tree already has just about every conceivable game, toy and piece of recreational equipment already available to the inhabitants, there was always something more being requested and months earlier, the staff of Camp Kenny wanted horses for the younger campers to ride.

To the campers, nothing was regarded higher than the horses. You could have all their toys, just don't mess with their horse-back riding.

The request immediately had Bert's blood pressure rising, but then again, his blood pressure rose when he learned that the staff was planning on bringing the bicycle's owned by the toddlers up on the hill with them when they moved from the lake. Once Sid convinced his boss that a toddler falling off a pony was a lot safer than one falling off a full grown horse, Bert relaxed somewhat. What he wasn't told was that certain pony's could be very nasty little horses, unlike their larger cousins.

To solve the problem, very specific ponies had to be located, those who were both trained and bred to deal with small children without biting, bucking or kicking a tot into the Infirmary. If that happened, there would be a larger than normal supply of dog food in the region.

Sid's solution was to order two dozen Shetland and Welsh purebred's whose temperament was literally guaranteed. After seven months of additional training at the stables that supplied all of the camps horses, the pony's were now ready and would be arriving the following morning.

Patty's announcement of their impending arrival at Flagpole had all thoughts of the mornings tea party shelved for the time being in Camp Kenny. For Bert, it was one more fairly major event going on around him at a time when he had three key staff sitting up in Martha's Vineyard.

"Fucking great." The Director muttered to himself.

To compound Bert's problems, Sunday morning breakfast came about 15 minutes later than it was supposed to, which now had the kitchen staff ready to disembowel the Director.

Feeding close to 600 people at one time and making sure the food was both hot and fresh took some doing if the schedule was kept, but when you strolled into the Mess Hall 15 minutes late, you could bank on a pissed off chef.

"Why don't you pull this kind of shit when we're having cold cereal and hard boiled eggs?" John asked Bert as he stood by the front door. Bert knew damned well any excuse would have been rejected anyway.

"Sorry" he replied as he passed.

Other than the ice cold toast that Bert guessed was deliberately delivered to his table, Sunday morning breakfast was more of a feast than a meal. Other than the children noticing that the scrambled eggs seemed to be a little more well done than usual, they found no fault with the meal.

As Bert usually did once he was through with his meal, he strolled around the mess hall to mingle with the campers. This gave him a chance to touch base with them, and also to both send and receive information to staff when necessary. Once he approached the mafia's table, he usually stopped and chatted for awhile.

"Where's your little sidekick?" Dan asked. Bert smiled and looked over at Sarah's table.

"He's eating with his friend's this morning. I dropped him off there before Reveille." Bert replied as a waiter brought him a cup of coffee.

"Brian said that the horses got out this morning Uncle Bert. Did you know that?" Sammy asked.

"Yes, the gate was broken sometime during the night and they were up on the ball fields." Bert replied.

"Brian said they crapped all over the place. Do we gotta pick it up?" Joey asked as a few of the boys giggled. Both Adam and Bert now looked at each other.

"No that's OK, we'll wait until your Uncle Sid returns and he can pick it up." Bert said.

"But we got a baseball game tonight!" Trevor now said.

"Step very carefully!" Bert told the boys as it was the staff's turn to chuckle.

"No fair, we didn't poop on the outfield." Joey replied.

"life's not fair boys; I have to go to a tea party today and I don't even drink the stuff!" Bert said as his staff continued the chuckle.

Just before breakfast ended, a senior boy approached the table to notify the Director that a washing machine in the camps laundry had broken down. Bert simply shook his head.

"Do I look like somebody who needs more shit dumped on him?" Bert asked Adam as he stood up.

"No boss, you look like somebody who needs to attend a tea party!" Adam replied as Kevin and Dan avoided eye contact with their boss.

As with the kitchen, the laundry was a vital cog in the wheel that made the camp of nearly 600 people roll along smoothly. The job of collecting, washing, drying, sorting and redistributing thousands of pieces of clothing per day fell to the camps laundry and the people who made sure it kept operating smoothly. It is a massive operation that is manned and run on a rotating basis of adult staff and senior boys and girls just as the kitchen, buildings and grounds, maintenance and cleaning crews are rotated. Now, the laundry was severely handicapped as one of its six commercial washers went out of service.

Arriving at the laundry with Dave and a crew of senior boys, Bert watched as the machine was inspected.

"The main bearing on the drum is shot. If we have it fixed here, we might have it back on-line in a week. If we send it out, it won't be back on-line for at least two weeks, maybe 3." Dave said as cleaned his hands.

"Can't we just replace it and bring in a new one?" Bert asked.

"Sure! That will take two months. These puppies aren't sitting on the floor at your local Sears or Best Buy; they cost ten Grand apiece and we have to get them from the factory direct. That's in Germany!" Dave told his Director.

"The fastest way to get it back on-line is by bringing in their technicians, but that's a security call you'll have to make." Dave said.

"Haven't they been here before?" Bert asked.

"Yes, when the camp wasn't in session. They always came after we returned to Florida in the past. I don't think it's a big deal, we just let our people know when they're on the grounds and to behave themselves." Dave offered.

"Are they locals?" Bert asked. Dave shook his head.

"They will be coming in from either Atlanta or Miami. You don't find these machines except in hospitals, prisons or military bases. There's not too much demand out there to wash a hundred pounds [45 kg] of clothing at a time." Dave replied.

"What about the rest of them? Are we going to have to keep going through this stuff every other week?" Bert asked. Dave shook his head.

"They'll go through the rest of the machines while they're here, but this is the first main bearing that's gone down. It's also the oldest machine on the line. It's been running for eight years without a problem, we just got unlucky." Dave replied.

"This seems to be our unlucky day." Bert said.

Dave smiled a bit.

"She probably just got an itch on her rump or figured Baron needed a little extra exercise. I'd have to build a gate made out of steel to keep her in the corral if she decided otherwise." Dave replied. Bert nodded his head.

" I'd rather avoid bringing outsiders onto the grounds if we can help it. Can you move the machine to the FEMA Depot and have them fix it there?" Bert asked his Chief Engineer.

"Sure, but that solves nothing unless we don't want them to inspect the other machines while they're here. It's an opportunity I think we need to take advantage of." Dave replied. Bert once again nodded.

"What about the laundry schedule?" Bert asked.

"The laundry runs now six hours a day, five days a week. We run it seven hours a day until we get back to full strength and that should pick up the slack. That's of course if we don't come down with another infestation of pin worms or head lice. Either one can have the laundry back on a 24-7 schedule." Dave informed his boss.

"Since you're the bearer of such cheery news, let me give you some: John is going to get his program up and running in the Keys this winter. He's also going to need his own campus here during the summer months when the Key has to be empty.

It looks like you're going to be a very busy little boy building cabins and John's teaching kitchens." Bert said. Dave shook his head.

"You just make sure Alexandria keeps two things in mind; That Key won't support more than 300 people on it without Islamorada knowing something's happening out in the mangroves and this lake won't adequately clean itself if we've got more than 800 people swimming and pissing in it. Our fresh water comes from the springs that feed the lake. The more we take for drinking, the less the lake gets to flush itself. It's time we start educating the kids about using the toilet rather than the lake if they gotta pee!" Dave said as several senior boys snickered.

Bert's return to his office found Adam and Gloria already there as the man pulled up in his cart. With staff meetings called off for the morning and Helen already up on the hill in Camp Kenny, Bert entered his office followed by his two remaining Administrator's.

"We've got one machine down in the laundry. It will be helpful if staff knew that and kept laundry bags to a minimum. The kids don't need to run around naked, but five changes a day would be nice to avoid." He told Gloria in particular.

"I also have a request on my desk to try to get the kids to piss on a tree or in the toilet rather than in the lake. There are no immediate health concerns, but we do need to remember that our water comes from that lake." Bert told Adam in particular.

"That's a boy thing." Gloria instantly responded.

"Right, I forgot, girls don't urinate!" Adam replied.

"Certainly not in the lake!" Gloria retorted.

"I have a few pictures of Carla and Jeannie that could put that statement to rest." Adam told the girl.

"And who taught them that little trick?" Gloria asked.

"I'm getting a headache. Tell me about this tea party." Bert now said as all three returned to serious discussion.

"The 4s and 5s in Camp Kenny have invited certain staff to their Tea Party. They watched "Alice in Wonderland" on Friday evening and came up with the idea. They convinced John to let them bake some cookies and cupcakes on Saturday morning and now fully expect you to join them for tea and goodies." Gloria said.

"Who's in charge?" Bert asked.

"Nobody really, it was a spontaneous idea from the kids." Gloria replied.

"Not about the party, who's going to be in charge at the party? Bert asked.

"I love the children dearly, but I can't just sit there for the day. Somebody's got to be in charge of it and guide the kids along." Bert told the girl.

"Like who?" Gloria asked.

"These kid's didn't walk into the kitchen and approach John all by themselves, who went with them?" Bert asked.

"Martha I think." Gloria replied.

"Then Martha is now the Master of Ceremonies. Just make sure she knows that Uncle Bert has some very important work to accomplish by 11:00 or so!" Bert told Gloria as Adam chuckled.

The time between Sunday breakfast and the start of Vespers for those attending was always spent straightening up the cabins and dressing for the days activities. Green Tree had very few Alter Boys in their midst, but since Vesper Services at Green Tree and Vesper Services on the "Outside" had very little, if anything in common, they were usually well attended, especially if Sid was around. Like the Pied Piper, he could bring the boys dancing gleefully to the Dentist. Now that Sid was up in Boston, the task fell to Adam who was taking the Assistant Director's place temporarily. "What's the big attraction for Services? There seems to be a lot more Intermediates going than usual." Bert now asked Adam.

"Peter's got them making their own kites and flying them today." Adam replied as Bert nodded his head.

"What's a kite got to do with J.C.?" Bert asked.

Adam shrugged his shoulders.

"You're asking the wrong guy; ask Peter." Adam said with a smile.

In the meantime, the mafia had returned to the cove after breakfast and it was now abuzz with activity.

"We never went to Church before we came here!" Gavin told the boys as his twin nodded agreement.

"Can't we go riding the horses or riding the go-carts instead?" He asked.

"Or swimming!" his brother Benji quickly added.

"Didn't ya listen to Aunt Patty at Flagpole?" Chris asked the twin's as he stuffed the night's pissy sheets into a large laundry bag with Matty.

"Cabin 7, eight and nine go riding this afternoon. We get to ride tomorrow afternoon after school." The boy said.

"Besides, nobody gets to ride horses or the go carts on Sunday morning. You can go out on the boats and go to the rec hall if you want, but we're going to fly kites with Uncle Peter." Sammy now said as he swept the back porch floor.

"What,s so fun about that?" Benji asked.

"We get to make our own kites and color them. Then we get to fly them and have kite fights. It's a lot of fun!" Joey replied with a huge devilish grin on his face.

Both twin's now looked at each other.

"Is anybody going sailing?" Gavin asked.

Sammy now looked out at the trees in the back of the cabin.

""Sailin's no good, there ain't no wind." He told the twin's.

"Besides, everybody in the mafia is goin kite flyin except for Bruce and Michael. They're going to the Nature shack if you want to go with them." he advised the boys. The two eight year olds now looked at each other once more. The Nature shack was fun, but there was just so much staring at salamanders, turtles and snakes that one could do before it wore thin.

Being a few minutes older than his twin, Benji was the deep thinker of the two boys.

"If there ain't no wind to go sailin, what'cha gonna try and fly kites for?" he asked Sammy.

Sammy had to admit, the question was a very good one. It was also one he had no answer for.

"Uncle Peter says we're flying kites. I guess he knows where the wind is gonna be!" he told the twins.

By design, Sunday mornings at Green Tree was always a "Lazy day" of scheduling and activities. It picked up a little in the afternoons, but still, it was a day of rest and relaxation for both the campers and the staff. The exception to that rule was the kitchen. Sunday morning breakfast was the largest breakfast of the week. A lakeside picnic lunch was held weather permitting, and was considered a normal lunch work-load as far as the kitchen was concerned. Sunday dinner however was always a sit down turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Except for the decorations, it could have been a Thanksgiving or Christmas meal.

Now, as the very distinctive smell of roast stuffed turkey began to permeate the air around the Mass Hall and lower campus, the very distinctive sound of Sid's Hammond B-3 began playing the boys favorite Sunday morning Hymn, "A Whiter Shade of Pale."

"Well, what did you think?" Adam asked the boys once he finished and moved over to the piano.

"Not so good Uncle Adam. You got all the notes right, but Uncle Sid plays it just like Matthew Fisher does." Sammy told his counselor as the boy shook his head.

"Yeah Uncle Adam. You gotta remember how Gary Brooker sings it when you play it. You cut off a bunch of the notes too soon!" Trevor told the counselor. Adam now looked to his friend Kevin sitting in one of the front seats.

"Don't ask me, I thought I was listening to Johann Sabastian Bach!" Kevin told Adam with a small smile on his face.

While Adam stewed about the critique, Bert made a phone call to Alexandria in his office.

"There's no reason for them to go up the hill to Camp Kenny, but even if they did, as far as they're concerned it's a regular children's camp and school." Bert told The Colonel in charge of Security.

"Bert, the kids who go to Choate and Camp Wanna Muckee don't run around in their Birthday suits all day. They also don't spend a good deal of their time looking for ways to get into their classmates pants." The Colonel responded.

"That's not what Adam told us!" Bert replied. There was an audible sigh on the other end of the phone before the Colonel returned to the conversation.

"Neither one of us knows a single thing about any of these repairmen. As long as they're on the grounds, I know you'll take maximum precautions to keep your people and them separated." He now said.

"No problem Harry. Now, what about Florida?" Bert asked.

"My records show that there's a skeleton crew of maintenance people down there from your people. Is there something I haven't been told?" the Colonel asked.

"No, as far as anyone here knows, Dave has a crew of two dozen maintenance people that he rotates out every month." Bert said.

"Are they all adults?" Harry asked.

"No. The older boys always teach the younger boys. Dave's senior maintenance crews all range from 16 to 24." Bert replied.

"Then have him pull them off the Island until the work is done. It's too dangerous." He replied.

"Done." Bert replied not surprised by the order.

"Any new news from Boston?" Bert now asked.

"They just left for Block Island for a quick look. We've got no problems from this end." Harry replied.

"And Spencer?" Bert asked.

"Last time I checked, he had agreed to the surgery. We're just twiddling our thumbs now until Monday." Harry replied.

"Everybody's happy with the security arrangements?" Bert now asked.

"I'm the only one who has to be happy with them. As long as the boys on K and M Street don't hear a whisper about the Project, they're very happy to continue on in ignorant bliss." The Colonel replied candidly.

"We could have easily kept your people at The New Hampshire School for security purposes, but Thomas's family is no more a threat to us than Adam or Thomas is." Harry told him.

Following Bert's phone call, the Director made it up onto the top of the path just before the campers and staff at Vespers vacated the building to build and then fly their kites. As Bert's cart hit the grass field, he could hear, but not see, the growing clamor of excited voices below. On the path that circled the ball fields of the upper campus, small groups of campers, mostly boys, either skated, biked, or rode their electric cars, jeeps and tanks around and around. Those not on the playgrounds and equipment were at the pool.

Of the 125 boys and girls that made up Camp Kenny, probably 50 were already at the Kiddie pool waiting for the party to start and doing some decorating. Once Bert stopped in front of the pool and honked his carts horn, a small migration began to flow his way. It was quite true that having to be at the party was not his first choice, but since he had to be there, he would now make the best of it he thought to himself.

"Close your eyes Uncle Bert! You can't peek until we say so." four year old Caroline told the man as the little girl along with half a dozen of her friends now jumped into Bert's cart to lead the man into the Kiddie Pool area.

Like Sunday Services, Green Trees version of a Tea Party and the outside world's version had little in common. At four and five years old, most campers had never been to one before, and the scene in "Alice in Wonderland" was their only guideline. Ribbons of crêpe paper, balloons and "Happy Birthday" table cloth's adorned the table's that surrounded the pool patio along with hats and party favors that made it difficult to figure out if it was a New Year's Eve Party or a Childs Birthday Party. "OK Uncle Bert. You can open your eyes now!" Caroline said as Bert sat down in a chair fit for a very skinny three year old. Now surrounded in a small sea of smiling faces, some with thumbs in their mouth, Bert temporarily forgot about the pressures of his office as he picked up and greeted each child who stood before him like Santa Claus at Macy's. Probably the only difference was the fact that most of these children were soaking wet from swimming and Green Tree children only rarely wore bathing suits. After about 15 children, Bert was soaked from his waist to his sneakers.

Less than 15 minutes later, the ball fields began filling up with kite flyers. Once word got out that a party was going on in the kiddie pool area, and that Uncle Bert was among the party goers, any possibility of leftover cupcakes, cookies or ice tea quickly evaporated along with a large percentage of Camp Kenny's supply of Oreo's and chocolate chip cookies that were kept in the cabin's as snacks for the toddlers.

What began as a tea party quickly turned into a morning of kite flying.

"Sorry guys, there was no wind down on the lower campus." Adam explained to Martha and the girls as the Kiddie Pool was deserted for the ball fields.

"No problem, just keep in mind that it's your job to get the horseshit off the little one's when this is over." Martha told Adam.

Life at Green Tree is rarely dull.

Spencer's new body

"That was Uncle Stuart. He says that Dora will have breakfast ready for us in 30 minutes." The girl said as she returned to the room. As Jeanette held up the cover off the bed, the girl scooted herself in and laid down next to Jeanette as she watched Kenny nurse more asleep than awake.

"When I grow up and have babies, I'm going to breast feed my children too. My mom breast fed me. Did your mother?" the girl asked.

"I don't know, I was too young to remember. I guess she did." Jeanette replied.

"Is Kenny going to remember?" the girl asked.

"It depends how old he is when he decides to stop. If he stops before age 5, probably not. If he breast feeds until he's five or 6, chances are he'll remember." Jeanette replied.

"Some of my cousin's remember, I guess that means they were older than I was when they stopped." Valerie said.

"Probably. Boys tend to breast feed longer than girls do." Jeanette replied.

"How come?" the girl now asked as she stroked Kenny's back. Jeanette smiled.

"I'm sure they won't admit it, but I think boys need the extra security more than girls do if they're both raised by loving parents. Boys like to portray themselves as very independent, brave and courageous individuals. But if you watch them very closely, you'll find that they don't stray all that far away from their Mothers or the person that has taken care of them as babies. When one of your cousins gets hurt, does he run to his Father, or to his Mother?" Jeanette asked the girl.

"Dora!" Valerie responded. Jeanette smiled.

"Why? Because she's a Doctor?" Jeanette asked the girl. Valerie smiled.

"We can't talk about this stuff at school, they don't want us talking about having babies or even breast feeding. None of my girlfriends have ever seen their mothers feeding their babies. Do you think they're lying?" Valeria now asked Jeanette.

"They may be hiding it out of embarrassment, but many mothers will never feed their children except in private.

They've probably been taught, just like your school is teaching your friends, to be ashamed and guilty about feeding their children and about human sexuality. It sounds like your teachers are either ignorant or very badly prepared to teach anybody anything." Jeanette replied. Valerie once again smiled.

"Uncle Joel said they were mental midgets. He wanted my Dad to switch me to another school but my Dad said that they were all stupid. Uncle Stuart told all of us to smile at them and ignore everything they had to say about it because they're just too dumb to know any better." Jeanette giggled which now had Kenny waking up.

The scene in the attic of the Big House looked a great deal like wake up time on the back porch of any cabin at Green Tree. With arms, legs and torso's entwined like ells in a bucket, it took a little doing before the owners were capable of sitting up or stretching. The group of five to 15 year olds awoke to the sound of Richard's Mother's voice coming through the open floor grate as Spencer hastily reached for a blanket to cover himself up.

"Don't worry; our parents don't come up in the attic. They don't ever invade our privacy." Richard told Spencer.

After throwing all the blankets, clothing and pillows down to the base of the stairway leading to the attic, the group now trampled their way across the pile to the bathroom and showers. Unlike camp, the shower could only accommodate four or five extremely compatable individuals at a time, which now had the balance waiting their turn and studying the scenery. As David had explained to Jesse and Spencer, the nieces and nephews preferred their romping in the late afternoon and evenings, but that didn't stop an impressive display of erectile proficiency. None of the boys would need Viagra anytime soon. With modesty a thing of the past, Spencer and Jesse had no problems figuring out who was top banana in the group. They could not beat the 15 year old Paulie, but they did take second and third place with great pride.

Spencer's impending surgery called for him to be under General Anesthesia for the operation. This precluded him from eating breakfast which he had not anticipated. Now with a grumbling stomach, he walked out to the cliffs with Sid, Jeanette and Anthony who had decided to fast with the boy, at least until he was on the Operating Table.

"Captain Jim is bringing the boat around the island into Menemsha Harbor. From there its less than 20 miles [30 km] into New Bedford so we should be getting you something to eat even faster." Sid told Spencer.

"I'm thirsty Uncle Sid, How come I can't even drink some water?" Spencer asked.

"They're going to be putting you to sleep little buddy. If you threw up when you were asleep, it could be very harmful to you." Sid replied. Spencer didn't like it, but agreed to the fast. Somewhat.

By 7:00 the group arrived at the Harbor with the boat sitting at the dock running. Once back on the boat, Spencer's thoughts of food and water abated as the boy climbed up onto the flying bridge and sat alongside the Captain with charts and GPS in hand. Below, Jesse and David, along with Valerie who was allowed to go to help Jeanette with Kenny, were the only other children on board. Once out of Menemsha Bight, Stuart's Sport Fisherman roared back into life leaving behind it a cloud of Diesel smoke as the boat approached 50 knots. All thoughts of food now vanished in Spencer's mind as the boy searched the area with a pair of binoculars as the marine radio chatter spoke about little more than the 72 footer that was screaming towards Nashawena Island and the channel that would allow them to head directly to New Bedford. Sid smiled deeply as a tray of Bloody Mary's now made the rounds in the lounge below.

"How do they all know the name of the boat Captain Jim?" Spencer asked as he listened to the marine radio. The Captain smiled and had to laugh a little at the question.

"There are a few boats in the area that can go as fast as we can, and some maybe even faster, but they were all built specifically to race. This is the fastest fishing boat for its size that I know of anywhere near Cape Cod, and most people on the water recognize her by sight if they travel these waters regularly." He told the boy. Once through the channel between Nashawena Island and Pasque Island, it was the Captains turn to ask a silly question.

"Would you like to steer?' He asked Spencer.

As Spencer's Chief Surgeon, it was Charles's original intention to break up the surgeries into three separate parts. As Monday morning neared, that plan was altered. From a plastic Surgeon's point of view, it was a nothing operation that could be down in one setting if the manpower was available. With Charles and Phillip conducting the Surgery along with two additional Surgeon's from the hospital, the whole job could be done in a matter of three or four hours. Putting Spencer to sleep, not to mention the emotional preparation he had to undergo was better done once, not three times. By agreement, none of this was mentioned to Spencer just in case a second operation was necessary.

Emotionally, Spencer took the morning quite well through gowning up, having an IV inserted and being sedated. Anthony on the other hand did not. Neither Sid nor Jeanette were surprised, Thomas was quite pissed.

"What the fuck is he doing here if he's not going to give Spencer comfort instead of laying this bullshit on him?" Thomas asked Sid as the Doctor prepared to assist his Brother's.

"Tom-tom hasn't mellowed much I see." His Brother Cory now said to his other brother's who were also scrubbing up.

"He flunked parental empathy in school Sid, have you noticed that yet?" Charles asked with a chuckle. Sid now smiled somewhat.

"He's laid into Anthony before when he fell apart.

Some Doctors are good at holding hands; some Doctor's are just good." Sid replied as Thomas shook his head.

"You'd think a fully grown adult would have the emotional capability to help someone when they need comforting and not fall apart like a fucking wet piece of toilet paper!" Thomas replied.

"I don't disagree with you Thomas, but getting pissed at Anthony in Spencer's presence will only create additional problems for Spencer. He's extremely protective of Anthony. Jeanette will keep Spencer in check and I'll work on Anthony." Sid said.

By 10:00, Spencer was moved into the Operating Room now heavily sedated. To Thomas's great relief, Sid allowed Anthony to go no further than the Operating rooms doors as Jeanette stayed with Spencer as she held onto the boys hand. This was a bit of surprise to the hospitals Operating Room Staff. They knew they would be performing Plastic Surgery on a child and little else. The presence in the room of four of the most renowned Surgeon's and Doctor's known to them along with a Pediatric Surgeon and two of their own Physicians had the nursing staff wondering if the child laying on the gurney was a Kennedy or a Rothschild.

Spencer reached 97 once the mask covered his face and Jeanette left the room. Once he was turned on his stomach, all hospital staff knew they were looking at neither a Kennedy nor a Rothschild. three distinct cigarette burns on his buttocks and five welts that ranged from three inches [7½ cm] to a little more than five inches [12½ cm] adorned his back, two of them with an elongated U.

"From the size of the belt buckle marks, we surmise that the belt used was either a garrison belt or some type of cowboy belt. Probably from three to four inches [7½-10 cm] wide. From the depth of the cigarette burns, the cigarettes were not merely used to burn the child, but to put them out or even held in place to burn their way into his skin. We will concentrate on the burns, 6,7 and 8, while you two will work on the welts, 1 though 5." Cory explained to the hospitals Surgeons as he pointed to pictures and X-Rays of the scars.

"What kind of an animal did this?" one of the nurses asked.

"Foster care," Thomas replied as he helped Charles monitor the Anesthesia.

Normal operations come with chatter, usually from the Physicians while they worked. Sometimes, music or an educational tape is played, depending upon the Doctor's preferences. For five hours, very little was said, and when it was, it was strictly business related to the operations taking place on Spencer's back and buttocks. For everyone involved, it was a very long day.

Once in the recovery room, Anthony was allowed to enter only if he solemnly vowed not to fall apart once Spencer began to awaken from the effects of the Anesthesia.

"The Captain says the sea's are kicking up and we have a bumpy ride to look forward to.

It might be better if Spencer remained here for the night or went back to the Hotel." Stuart advised Sid.

"Do we have to come back here tomorrow?' Jeanette now asked.

"No. We wait until he heals from today's work and then we might have to return for some follow-up, but that won't be for at least a month." Phillip replied.

"I don't want to stay here Uncle Sid. Either we go back to the Hotel or we take him back to the Vineyards in a helicopter. Is there one we can get from Alexandria?" She asked.

"Let's find out." Sid replied as he called Bert.

After filling in Bert on Spencer's operation, Sid got to the real reason for calling.

"We need to find out if there's a helicopter available up here. The sea is too rough to take Spencer back by boat and Jeanette thinks Spencer would be happier on the island rather than in the Hotel room. Alexandria, you got your big ears on?" Sid asked. Knowing the answer in advance, Sid wasn't in the least surprised when a voice asked him to stand-by.

"Sidney, please tell me you're not harassing my men again." A voice on the phone said "Not unless it's considered harassment if I wake them up." Sid replied.

"Bert, you really need to find a higher quality of staffing down there." Alexandria replied.

"Never mind the flattery, how about my chopper?" Sid asked.

"The Sikorski is in Connecticut for routine maintenance. We can send you another one, but it will probably take four to six hours to round up a crew." The Colonel replied.

"If it were me, I'd hire an air ambulance." He said.

"That won't work. An air ambulance will only transport the patient. He'd have to fly alone." Stuart said once Sid explained the suggestion.

"No go Harry. I've got Jeanette here shaking her head." Sid told the man.

"How about the Gulfstream?" Sid asked.

"No. Not unless you want a posse of cops sitting on your doorstep like last time. That plane draws publicity like Paris Hilton at an orgy." Harry replied.

"That was during the off season. Private jets during season are as common as rocks on the beach around here. We could have him off loaded in a heartbeat into a wagon and the jet on its way back to Boston before the tires get cool." Thomas now said.

"The crew will be waiting for you in an hour." Harry replied.

For Jeanette, Sid, Adam and Anthony, news that the Gulfstream would return them to the Vineyard went over very well. Valerie was also tickled pink with the idea of getting the opportunity to fly in the jet but the same could not be said of Jesse and David. As the time wore on and Spencer came back into the world, neither was he. All three boys clearly wanted to take the boat home. For Spencer, that was out of the question and only Thomas's firm stance on medical grounds stopped Spencer's objections. In the end, Spencer, Anthony, Thomas, Jeanette and Valerie along with Kenny would return to the island by plane. Everyone else would return by boat. Spencer's disappointment was eased somewhat when Stuart suggested that since Spencer's operation was completed and he didn't have to return the next day, he could join the boat the following day to Block Island.

The return trip to the Vineyard went smoothly and by 6:00, the boat was docking in Menemsha almost a half hour before the Gulfstream landed at the airport. Spencer had to be transported by ambulance to Logan, not so much out of necessity, but because both Cory and Phillip ordered it as a precaution. Spencer was awake, but after five hours under Anesthesia, neither wanted to risk a fall on his part. Sitting was also out of the question temporarily. Between the ambulance trip and waiting for the Gulfstream to get clearance for take-off, the boat won the race as far as the boys were concerned as they loaded into the vehicles which would take them back to Gay Head.

As predicted by Stuart, the arrival of the Gulfstream on Martha's Vineyard hardly caused a ripple at the airport as Spencer watched the landing flat on his stomach on a gurney. Within ten minutes, the Gulfstream winged its way north back to Boston as Spencer watched the plane take off from the new ambulance he found himself in. By now, he was beginning to enjoy getting waited upon hand and foot. By 7:00 the estate's new celebrity pulled up to the portico with both Jesse and David smiling at him with Cheshire cat smiles on their faces.

Despite hours of preparations on Thomas's brothers wives parts, Dora melted down faster than Anthony upon seeing Spencer laying on the gurney bottom up. Spencer was briefed on the plane by Thomas that this might occur.

"Dora can get very emotional, especially when it comes to any of the children in the house. She doesn't differentiate between friend's and family, if you're a guest in the house, you may as well be one of her own children." Thomas tried to explain.

"Dora is a very special person to all of us, and it would hurt her feelings if she thought we were rejecting her love and caring for us. Expect her to carry on and maybe even blubber like a baby and just do what the rest of us do; know that she loves you and cares about you. She just has some strange ways to show it." Thomas counseled the boy.

"How come she's like that?" Spencer asked.

"Because when she was a little girl, just about your age, our Uncle Joel's Father saved her life and brought her here from Haiti. She dedicated her life to Uncle Joel and all of us. I guess Haitian's take that kind of stuff more seriously than everybody else," Thomas replied.

"So she's like our Aunts and Uncles, but without all the crying?" Spencer asked.

Thomas smiled and kissed the tip of Spencer's nose.

"Same thing!" he replied.

"Let's get him inside Dora, is dinner getting cold?" Stuart asked after a few minutes.

Dinner of Roast Lamb kept Dora busy all day cooking (Which was the plan) and with chicken soup made especially for the younger set and Spencer, it was not only a hot meal, but a long one as well. By 8:30, the gaggle of children on the lawn playing "Touch" football once again created a noisy scene as the adults took coffee and drinks on the porch as Spencer drifted off to sleep without protest.

"If he rolls on his back, he's probably not going to appreciate it very much, but the pain medication should take care of most problems." Phillip said as he lifted both sides of the gurney into place to prevent a roll-off.

"Is he in much pain?" Anthony asked. Phillip shook his head.

"It's discomfort more than pain. He's stiff, and the bandages are restricting movement, but other than that,

He should be sitting up in a day or two. Right now, the more walking we can get him to do, the better." He told Anthony.

"Are they all gone?" Anthony asked.

"The burns were skin grafted and they should be invisible once the area heals over. The scar tissue from the welts have all been removed and grafted over so they too should be very hard to see. It all really depends upon how well the grafts blend in with the surrounding skin once the area is subjected to the sun. The welts might be more visible during the winter months because of the lack of a tan. His bottom doesn't get as much direct sunlight, so it should remain constant all year long." Phillip said.

"That might be true with your normal patients Phillip, but let's keep in mind that Spencer has no tan line. For that matter, none of the boys at Green Tree do." Thomas told his brother as he reached over and pulled Kenny's Carter's down exposing the toddlers bronzed ass as the boy slept happily being rocked by Valeria.

As the rest of the adults chuckled, Phillip nodded his head.

"I guess we need to open up a sub field of Plastic Surgery that deals with the nudist patient." He said looking at his brother Cory. After the adults settled back down again, Phillip returned to Anthony's question.

"Other than the fact that we know the graft's came from a caucasion,

there's no way to tell how the skin pigment is going to react to the sun. Some folks lightly tan, some folks heavily tan, and some just get red. I'd call Spencer's skin tone moderate, so let's hope that the graft's are capable of blending in with the surrounding skin. If not, we can artificially color the graft, but it will stay that color regardless of the exposure to the sun the rest of his body receives. We'll know how to proceed if necessary a month from now." He told Anthony.

"Let's discuss tomorrow." Stuart now said.

"It's my understanding that Matthew wants to join the both of you on the island tomorrow. If you'd like, you can pick him up in New Bedford and take the boat out to the island. It's my understanding that everything's in place at the estate for the re-burial." He told Sid and Barry.

"I think if we don't take you up on your very kind offer, Spencer will disown me." Sid now replied as he took a sip of his screwdriver.

It was now Barry's turn to chuckle deeply.

"I've been around your brood long enough to realize that they stick together like glue! If Spencer goes, Anthony goes. If you go, Jesse goes, If Spencer goes, Jeanette goes which automatically means that Kenny goes. If Spencer and Jesse are on the boat, then David is going which means that Thomas isn't about to be left standing on the dock with Valerie waving goodbye to the rest of us as we sail off.

We might be better off if we have Matthew take the ferry over here and have the Gulfstream run us out to the island before Stuart's boat sinks from over loading!" he recommended.

Once the laughter died down, Stuart addressed the group.

"The airstrip on Block Island will never accommodate that jet. I don't think anything bigger than a Cessna prop job would be able to land there. The boat has had 20 people on it before, so I'm not too afraid it will swamp. She'll carry as many people as you want to go along for the ride." Stuart said as he looked at his niece rocking the baby. Valerie now looked to her Mother with some very pleading eyes.

With Spencer sleeping on the back porch of the big house along with Anthony,

Sid, Jeanette and Kenny, it was a fairly quiet night for the remaining children as a dozen or so bare little asses made their way up the attic stairs in giggly anticipation of what was about to occur as it usually did every bedtime.

Nobody really cared who was first or who was last, who was on top, or who was on the bottom. The name of the game was how well the other person made you feel, and as the nieces and nephews had discovered first from David and now from Spencer and Jesse, for whatever reason, kid's from North Carolina seemed to know a hell of a lot of more and better ways to make fun and find those places that were heretofore unknown to the Vineyard children.

Tomorrow would be a very busy day for them in their continuing summer vacation, but for now, it was time to make that very tight feeling in their heads last for as long as possible while they watched their penises disappear in waves of throbbing pleasure and heat. They knew "Outsiders" would never approve of their behavior, but did that really matter to them?

Chapter Thirty Eight

The Welsh and Shetland pony's that had been chosen by Sid and Patty were all Section B or Division B purebred's, and it took some doing to gather all 48 of them in one place without certain Associations wanting to know where they were going. The last thing in the world Alexandria wanted on their hands was a pack of curious horse breeders wanting to know where their prize animals had disappeared to so that they could come and "Visit" them in their new home. For the children's part, they did not see a possible security breach; they saw horses that were just their size to ride just like the big boys had.

"Horsey!" Christopher exclaimed as the boy nearly fell off the bench he was standing on in the Mess Hall.

"Son of a Bitch!" Bert said under his breath as the Mess Hall now began emptying with breakfast half finished and the campers scrambling over the table benches.

One by one, a senior boy mounted on a horse walked a pony to the flagpole area that stood in front of the Mess Hall. The horse vans had been unloaded of their cargo at the front gate, and now, a parade of ponies was gathering as the campers surrounded them in a sea of smiling faces. The most commonly heard phrase was "I want that one!" from the Camp Kenny toddlers.

"Just for the fuck of it, the next time I learn that you're in the middle of an Administrative meeting, I'm going to decide to have an early meal and have the bugler blow Mess Call!" Chef John told his boss as the chef came out of the now empty Dining Hall.

"Yesterday you stroll in 20 minutes late, today you put on a circus parade halfway through breakfast, you got anymore tricks up your sleeve to rip my schedule to shreds?"

John asked.

"I would have made them wait until after breakfast John. This was Dave's call. He probably didn't keep track of time." Bert suggested.

"They don't have fucking watches out there at the Front Gate?" John asked. Once more, the only thing Bert could come up with was "Sorry." It took a few minutes, but eventually probably half the camp returned to cold French toast and pancakes, but few of the Intermediate campers noticed once sufficient maple syrup was poured. In the Camp Kenny section, it really didn't matter if the food was now cold; for them, breakfast was over.

As far as Christopher was concerned, he saw very little difference between the ponies that now stood before him and his rocking horse on the porch. They were almost the same size, and he was ready to climb on board. Only the fact that his two senior aids were holding him back prevented the boy from doing just that.

"Easy big fella. You want to ride the horsey up to the stables?" Bert stupidly asked the special needs boy. Now practically dragging the teenage girls behind him, Christopher approach a Chestnut filly with four stocking feet.

"Hey!" he chirped excitedly. Bert picked the boy up by his waist and mounted him on the horse which effectively started a small stampede towards the remaining ponies. The four and five year olds remained cautious for the time being, but the six and seven year olds were ready to ride off into the sunset. As Jill and Clare got on each side of Christopher ready to catch him, or at least cushion the fall, Christopher grinned from ear to ear shaking with excitement.

With the more timid amongst the campers now loaded onto the senior boys horses, almost the entire Camp Kenny population rode up the winding path to their campus. Those still not exactly sure if they wanted anything to do with these huge beasts rode with their respective counselors in carts.

In anticipation of the pony's arrivals, Dave and his crew had erected a temporary pole barn to house the animals, and as the pony's were placed in their stalls one by one to acclimate them to their new surroundings, a never ending supply of hay was offered by small hands.

"Do they gots names?" Caleb asked Patty as he stood before a pony who was trying to decide which of three hands to eat from first. While the truth was that each horse had a name two feet [60 cm] long and a Pedigree going back almost 100 years in some cases, those were all locked up in the office safe and wouldn't see the light of day again until and unless a pony was bred. "No, Uncle Sid and I have put together a very long list of names that might fit them; we'll let you decide what their names are going to be. Each Cabin will have four horses to name, and we'll have a special drawing to decide who names the remaining eight ponies." Patty told the wide eyed campers.

While Christopher's level of cooperation was usually high, those who dealt with him almost always needed to find a way to "Bribe" the boy from one activity to another. Usually, the "Magic carrot" was food, but Christopher had just eaten breakfast. What now needed to be found was something a little more interesting than the pony he was refusing to give up. As he was lead around and around the corral still maintaining a toothy grin and dimples that told everyone he was one happy boy, Jill and Claire were running out of idea's. One of the few alternatives left was quickly drawing nearer, which was to just stop the horse and drag him kicking and screaming off. A call was put out to the Mess Hall for Bert to drag his ass up the hill pronto.

As Bert reached the top of the path for the second time that morning, he was a little miffed that one little boy couldn't be dealt with without his intervention. Bert confidently left his cart and clapped his hands for the boy to come running into his waiting arms.

"We tried that one, Uncle Bert." Jill told the Director a half hour later when Bert asked Christopher if he wanted an ice cream cone from the Snack Shack. With Bert now humbled and fully prepared to drag Christopher off the damned horse therapeutically or not, he happened to glance over towards Maria, the Belgian mare whose colt Baron now slept at his Mother's feet while she nibbled on some green grass.

"Christopher, you may go around the corral one more time and then it's time for the pony to get some rest. The pony is a baby just like Baron is, and babies need rest don't they?"

Bert asked the boy as he pointed towards Baron. Christopher studied the colt on the ground that was just about the same size as the pony he was on.

"Babee?" he asked.

"Yes, the pony you're riding on is a baby and she needs to rest and take a nap now." Bert replied as he stroked the pony's mane.

"Seep?" Christopher asked as he made the sign for sleep. With half a dozen people around him saying yes and nodding their heads, Christopher reached his arms out to Bert forgetting about the "One more time around." bit.

With a Doctorate in Child Psychology under his belt, Bert was mighty impressed with himself as he walked back towards his cart.

"See how easy that was girls? It only took your Uncle Bert an hour to figure that one out." Patty said as Bert's senior girls giggled and got into the cart.

"Don't pay any attention to her; she's been hanging around with your Uncle Sid too long!" Bert replied as he left for the lower campus. Christopher was now signing for the much promised ice cream cone and had no intentions of being denied.

Spencer awoke to an overcast day as Jeanette removed the hospital gown the boy had been put to bed in. His bandages were being changed every six hours since his plastic surgery, and now finding himself being rolled over on his stomach seemed almost routine to the 13 year old. Watching Kenny playing quietly on the floor with another three year old, Spencer smiled as Jeanette work to remove the old bandages.

"I'll get this one if you'd like?" a voice now said.

"That should be OK, there's no hair under that bandage." Jeanette replied. Spencer's head now spun around as someone touched his bottom.

"Hi!" Valerie said softly as the girl smiled and went back to her task.

"Hi." Spencer replied as he now looked at Jeanette. Jeanette smiled as she looked into Spencer's questioning eyes.

"There's nothing she hasn't seen before, right?" she asked Spencer as she kissed the boy on his cheek.

"Think of her as a nurse Spencer." Jeanette suggested.

"I'm not going to be a Nurse, I'm going to be a Doctor." Valerie immediately replied.

"OK, think of her as your Doctor Spencer." Jeanette said with a smile as Spencer turned a shade pink and laid his head back down on the pillow.

Even at 12, Valerie recognized a budding hulk when she saw one. Spencer still retained much of the body of a pre adolescent boy. He did not yet have well defined hips and his legs and arms were still without obvious muscle tone. His back and legs still had smooth baby hair and his bottom was as smooth and round as any baby's ass she had ever seen.

But still, with a tan that went from his neck to his ankles and a chest and genital package that decidedly declared that there was no baby within, Spencer was obviously well on his way.

That, plus the boys quiet, restrained manner and with his poster child good looks made the girls job none the easier as she removed the three bandages that covered the boys surgery.

"Last year my Dad and Uncle Cory operated on Richard after he fell out of a tree at his house. It looked just like this when he first came home. Now, you can't even see the mark anymore." Valerie said.

"Really?" Spencer asked.

"Sure! When Richard comes down, I'll show you." The girl replied smiling.

Jeanette looked up and watched the girl as she applied Hydrocortisone on the skin graft's that remained of the surgery. Gone where the cigarette burns from Spencer's childhood abuse. Now watching the girl massage in the cream with the deftness of a physical therapist, Jeanette wondered what the girl's thoughts were. Did the girl consider herself a healer or a very, very, lucky little girl? "Did you help with Richard's recovery as well?" Jeanette asked.

"Oh sure, we all did. When Amy and Tyler and Kiersten were born, all of us were in the hospital to watch the birth. We even got to watch Uncle Thomas circumcise Tyler!" the girl exclaimed in pride.

"What does that mean?" Spencer asked.

"Remember Joshua's Bris?" Jeanette asked the boy.

"That was a circumcision." she said. Spencer was now slightly aghast.

"You watched them do that?" Spencer asked Valerie.

"Sure, I'm going to be a Doctor, that's what Doctor's do." she replied.

"Not me, I ain't cuttin off anybody's dick!" Spencer said as he took his security into hand protectively. Jeanette now smiled much deeper as Sid and Barry came onto the porch with coffee.

"Don't worry about it Valerie, boys can be a little over protective of themselves now and then." she told the girl.

"From what I understand, good old Mohammed had the very same thing to say about woman. You ain't looking to volunteer yourself anytime soon are you darlin?" Sid asked the girl. To be sure, Sid's day had begun once again as the toddlers looked up from the floor at the adults around them laughing.

Not at all unexpectedly, the passenger list on Stuart's boat expanded through breakfast. By its finish, the youngest nursing children of the Estate along with their Mother's elected to remain behind on the Vineyard as the rest of the group headed for Menemsha Harbor once again. While Sid and Barry re-buried their two Brother's on what was now the "Family" plot on Block Island, the rest of the group planned on cruising to Montauk Point where a favorite restaurant of Stuart's could be found for lunch.

Now laced with a goodly amount of both nerve and pain medication, Spencer retook his place on the flying bridge thanks in great part to a thickly padded ass and a down pillow to sit on. Few adults on board failed to notice Spencer's new shadow, Valerie.

Rarely did the girl sit on the flying bridge, preferring the bow with her other cousins. Now, where Spencer went, she went.

"She's either a very dedicated health aid, or a smitten 12 year old. Any guesses?" Sid asked as Ronny came forward with a tray of Bloody Mary's.

"She's very good with treating him. She's obviously going to make a very fine Doctor some day. She's only known him for less than a week, stop seeing things that aren't there." Jeanette told Sid.

"It doesn't take that long to know when somebody is exceptional. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to kidnap my young friend here and smuggle him onto the plane." Sid responded with 16 year old Ronny once again retreating forward with a pink face.

"We need a full time bartender at Green Tree. Don't you think so Thomas?" Sid asked.

"If you can figure out a way to get past his Mother, Sid, I'm all for it," Thomas replied.

Sid chuckled along with the rest of the group as he now looked towards the bow and Anthony who was standing with four or five children. Anthony had been very quiet and withdrawn the past few days since arriving and if there was anything going on between Spencer and Valerie, Sid was going to have his hands full and he knew it.

"We know you two are sitting around watching Barry and Myself like a pack of vultures waiting for the chance to land, but we need to keep an eye on the whole picture. Spencer is responding well to his expert medical attention; let's not forget the other half." Sid said somewhat cryptically to the adults.

Once again, as the boat entered Menemsha Bight and passed the green bell number 1,

the children left the bow without prompting. Not one of them wouldn't have preferred to stay on the bow, but at 30, 40 and 50 knots, they also knew the Captain would never allow it. Now heading straight for the Pilot House, a small gaggle of children including David and Jesse took seats and positions with charts and GPS in hand. The show was about to begin once again as the ever increasing sound of the boats two turbo-charged engines began to thrust the boat forward like a jet taking off. This time, with Spencer's hands on the throttle's as his heart pounded almost as fast as the diesel's he was controlling. At around 5,500 R.P.M., the Captain signaled Spencer he was traveling fast enough.

"We can't open her up right now because of the sea conditions, but if she settles down a little, you can bring her up another 500 R.P.M." the Captain told the boy whose hair was flowing in the 40 knot winds.

Once again, most chatter on the marine radio was by the local boaters who knew Stuart's boat and called her by name. Spencer beamed with pride knowing he was the one at the helm of the boat they all admired so much. Once the funeral was over, Spencer had some Talk Time to do with his Uncle Sid.

At 40 knots, the trip from the Vineyard to New Bedford to pick up Matthew was two Bloody Mary's long and by 10:00 in the morning, the boat was once more underway and once it got into Buzzard's Bay, was once again streaking directly for Block Island less than an hours ride away if the conditions allowed.

Since it was Matthew's first trip on the boat, it was an eye opener. Once the Captain made his appearance in the Main Lounge and found out Spencer was driving the boat, Matthew reconsidered the Steward's offer of a drink.

"Can you make a strong Margarita?" Matthew asked the boy. Sid smiled as the rest of the group laughed.

"This boy can make Dean Martin look stupid!" Sid told his old friend.

"My Son is monitoring him; he's been operating the ship now since he was 16." The Captain told Matthew with a smile.

"I've got to tell you though, that boy of yours soaks up information like a sponge. He picked up the concept of variation and deviation in navigating without blinking an eye. I've trained hundred's of cadets on the bridge when I was in the Coast Guard, he would put most of them to shame." The Captain said.

"Spencer's always been recognized at school as being very bright. He doesn't seem to be paying much attention to you, yet he masters the work without writing a note or opening a book. We don't formally test the boys with regards to their IQ's. but we all know he would test out well above 135, maybe 150 to 160." Sid said.

"What's he want to do with his life?" Stuart now asked. Sid smiled and chuckled a bit.

"At 13, he wants to play baseball, ride horses, water ski and ride around on a four wheeler once the winter comes." Sid replied.

"We really don't ask until they reach age 16 or so. Until then, they're simply boys." "And what do they think of David making a career choice so young?" Charles now asked. Again Sid had to smile as he looked at Thomas.

"They think it was a brilliant choice since David now gets to scoot all over the campus in a golf cart unescorted. Of course if David had to walk, they might think otherwise!" Sid said as the Lounge once more erupted in chuckles.

"I think Spencer's wheels are already turning. He's asking a lot of questions, and most of them have to do with what he needs to do to Captain his own ship." Captain Jim now reported. Sid nodded his head.

"It may be a passing fancy and it might be something he wants to pursue. If he does, we'll see if it can't work for him but we also need to keep in mind that his idea of a boat to captain and the real world is two different things.

I'm sure this little dingy isn't sitting at everyone's dock, and that even the demand for crewing your average yacht isn't all that much in high demand." Sid said.

Captain Jim nodded in agreement.

"There's no doubt that right now, he has a skewed view of boating, and that pleasure boats get their crews, especially their Captains, through word of mouth or have assignments handed down to them. It's why both my Son and Ronny have been steered towards the medical profession. But if he's serious about the sea, he could find himself on the deck of a ship as an Officer."

"Who could?" Anthony now asked as he entered the Lounge.

"In about 12 years from now, Spencer could." Sid replied not knowing exactly how much Anthony had already overheard.

"12 years?" Anthony asked.

"Yes, first he needs to graduate high school, then he needs to go to college for his Master's Degree, and that's if he decides he wants to do that." Sid replied.

"Let's not forget, right now he's a 13 year old boy at the controls of a floating missile. If he wasn't excited about it, I'd have him tested for mental retardation!" Sid replied.

"Spencer's driving the boat?" Anthony asked.

"Well he sure ain't!" Sid said as he pointed to the Captain.

It took a little while for the group to settle itself back down once an ashen faced Anthony bolted for the ladder that would take him up to the flying bridge. Once calm was restored, Matthew reached for his briefcase.

"The lawyers and the tax accountants have some papers for you to sign. Would you like to go forward to discuss some business?" he asked both Sid and Barry.

"That's not necessary unless we're stealing something." Sid replied. Once more Matthew smiled.

"No, you're not stealing anything but nobody wants to pay uncle sam any more than they have to, and you've got half of the Legal and Tax Departments at Harvard making sure you keep as much as possible." Matthew replied.

"The Estate was Deeded over to you yesterday and the papers were filed in Providence.

The caretaker that was hired by the Estate's attorney was given severance and all maintenance work on the Estate will now be handled by crews from the school." Matthew reported.

"There's a three bedroom apartment over the garage that was used by the house staff when we were there. Is it still livable?" Barry asked.

"We don't know yet, we'll find that out today. There's a whole grounds crew out there from school and they'll begin the process of evaluating what needs to be done." Matthew replied. Barry nodded.

"Probably the best thing to do is to get the apartment up and running for the grounds crew. They can't keep running back and forth on the ferry." Barry said as Sid nodded.

"Our people brought a back hoe out to the Island yesterday. According to the paperwork, this is a schematic drawing of the cemetery detailing where burial sites are.

We can't locate one grave on the site. It's of a baby that died in early infancy. We're guessing that baby is located somewhere close to its Mother; your Uncle Kenny's Grandmother." Matthew said as he showed Sid and Barry a map.

"We played around the cemetery as children, but we never went passed the fence that surrounded it." Sid said.

"Even if we did, it was so long ago, we wouldn't know where it was." Barry now said. Matthew nodded.

"What our people propose to do is to place four plots here along the old fence line alongside your Uncle Kenny's resting place. They think that's safe territory, and gets all four of you as close to him as possible." Matthew said as he brought out a new drawing. Both Sid and Barry silently nodded.

"What about the fence? I didn't see any fence on Sunday." Barry now asked.

"No, it was an iron fence according to the records and the salt air corroded it a long time ago. It needs to be replaced along with the roof fence on the Widow's Walk." Matthew reported.

"For the most part, Barry is going to take the lead on this. We both agree that what we want is for the house to be restored to what it was when we were there in 1961. This is where we intend to be buried, but his life is at New Hampshire and my life is at Green Tree. Speaking for myself, I have no retirement plans, when I leave Green Tree, I leave feet first." Sid told Matthew.

"Understood." Matthew replied.

"The details are still being worked on by the legal people, but basically the proposal is for you two to keep all control over the property for yourselves and any living member of your immediate family which includes your wife, partner, biological or adopted children,

and grandchildren, adopted or biological. Theoretically, the property could remain in your heir's hands for close to 200 hundred years." Matthew said smiling.

"And what happens after Barry and I have this great baby boom?" Sid asked as the group chuckled once more.

"Then the property will revert to the Harvard Endowment Trust which has been paying the bills since yesterday." Matthew replied with a smile.

"What about the taxes?" Sid asked.

"In a Living Will, there are none. Legally, the Estate is owned by Harvard which is tax exempt." Matthew replied.

"And if this great baby boom never materializes and Barry and I are gone in ten years, what happens to the cemetery?" Sid asked.

"So long as Harvard exists, they will agree to maintain the cemetery "Where is, as is" that means you might have a high rise apartment building standing next to you, but whoever is buried in that 200 by 200 foot [60 x 60 m] plot of land cannot be removed or disturbed in any way." Matthew replied. Sid nodded.

"How big of a high rise?" Sid asked as one more meeting broke up in laughter.

It wasn't the 4th of July week-end, but you would never have known that fact by counting the boats moored and anchored in New Harbor. With the stiff breeze that was blowing, sailboats of all sizes and descriptions dotted the waters surrounding Block Island with more than a few of the larger sailboats known by name by the Vineyard children. Not unsurprisingly, the marine radio once more began chattering away as Stuart's boat settled back down in the water as the Captain backed off on the throttles.

Now back on the flying bridge, the Captain was surrounded by a small sea of hair as just about every child on board except for Kenny wanted to see from the highest perch possible.

"How come they all keep waving?" Jesse asked as a sloop with half a dozen people on board went passed.

"It's kind of a tradition on the water. As a general rule, people on the water are a lot friendlier than people on the land." The Captain replied.

"How Come?" Spencer asked.

"Probably for several reason's. First, they're on vacation and they're enjoying themselves. Secondly, they're part of a very small group of people called "Boater's" and they feel like they're a part of a very small club. They're also happy to know the feeling of freedom that being on the water gives them. No traffic jams, no crowds of people, no speed limits, no police cars chasing them around looking for seat belts. A whole lot of things that just makes them friendlier than someone you might meet on the street." He said.

As the boat cruised into the salt pond and headed for Champlin's Marina once again, a small flotilla of boats, mostly crewed by island children, escorted the Sport Fisherman.

"The local children here can make some good money during the summer either digging for clams, or digging for sand worms to sell to the local bait shops. Some of these kids can make $100.00 a day if the tide is right." Stuart told the adults as a barefoot boy of about 12 held up a basket of little neck clams while standing up in his Boston Whaler.

"Isn't that a little dangerous? Nobody's steering that boat." Jeanette said as she watched the boy. Stuart smiled.

"These kid's are practically born on the water. They start running their own outboards by five or six years of age. Most of them live on the water from the day school gets out until the day it goes back into session in the Fall. That boy probably has a string of lobster pots, digs for clams until the water gets too cold, goes blue fishing and bass fishing in season and knows every single fishing hole between here and Long Island by smell. He's safer in that boat than our kids are on bicycles!" Stuart replied as he signaled the boy to meet him at the marina.

Both Sid and Barry nodded in agreement.

"We were much too young to do any of that when we were here, and we were also here during the winter so even if we weren't, it was too cold to be on the water." Barry remembered.

"But most of the children from the Island we met told us what they did during the summer and they spent most of the winter either building themselves a new boat, repairing their old ones or tearing down the outboard motors and fixing them for the Spring. We didn't have a clue what they were doing, but they let us hand them their tools." Barry recalled with a smile.

"When I first came, I had the very distinct impression that the local fisherman didn't like our island friends very much. They never seemed to smile at them, they never said a kind word, the called them "Wharf Rats" to their faces and didn't want them hanging around the water." Sid recalled.

"Then one day just after the snow disappeared, a boy down in the village didn't come home for dinner. He had gone out clamming and broke the shear pin on his motor and couldn't get back into the Harbor. There wasn't one single seaworthy boat on the whole Island that didn't get put into the water that night to go look for him. They found him the next afternoon drifting towards Bermuda. He's still living here last time we checked." Sid said as Barry nodded.

"Uncle Kenny told us they might not smile at you, but they'll go out in a hurricane to save you. I stopped being afraid of them after that." He said with a small smile.

The return of Stuart's boat to the Marina was met by broad smiles from the Dockmaster as well as from his dock boys. In return for insuring that the 72 foot [22 m] Viking always had a spot available to her regardless of how crowded the Marina might be, the boats arrival usually meant some shopping, maybe a stay over night or for the week-end at the Marina's hotel, lunch, a few hundred gallon's of diesel fuel and a liberal tip for anybody who touched the boat in any manner. Some boats had a reputation for being "Cheap".

Since a great deal of a dock boys pay was determined in tips, seeing Stuart's boat enter the harbor meant a great payday was ahead.

"I just dug these this morning Doc, do you want all of them?" The boy in the Boston Whaler asked as he walked down the dock.

"You know better than to come out onto the docks Freddie!" The Dockmaster quickly rebuked the boy.

"That's my fault Tom, I met him out at the breakwater and asked him to meet me here." Stuart said as he ruffled the boys hair.

"No problem Doctor, I didn't know that." The Dockmaster said as he apologized to the boy. Turning back to the boy, Stuart looked into the basket that had about four dozen clams in it. Still grayish black, the clams were obviously fresh but Stuart didn't know where they came from.

"Did these come from outside or inside the harbor?" Stuart asked.

"Oh no Doc, I don't dig no clams inside the harbor!" the boy replied emphatically.

"I'll take your word for it. How's twenty bucks sound?" Stuart asked knowing the clams were worth ten.

"Sold!" the boy exclaimed as Stuart smiled.

"Give them to Ronny and he'll give you the money." Stuart told the boy who now went on board the boat.

After introductions, Stuart told the Dockmaster of the boats plan to travel to Montauk and return in a few hours to pick up his guests along with some fuel. As once more the Viking roared to life, the group on the dock had to smile as the little clam digger scurried off the boat like a fiddler crab and jumped into his own boat, now on a mission to go and locate two dozen fresh lobsters by the time the boat returned. All three boys, Spencer, Jesse and David watched the little Wharf Rat zoom out of the harbor weaving his way between moored boats and expertly missing them by inches as his hair flew in back of him.

"Don't he need a license to run a boat?" Jesse asked.

"No, if he's old enough to start the motor, he's old enough to run it." The Dockmaster replied.

"What if he hits one of them boats?" Spencer now asked.

"Then he'll be moving to Cranston!" The Dockmaster replied as Stuart laughed.

To Jeanette, the boat leaving the dock with her on it was impressive. For the boat to leave the dock with her standing on the dock was even more impressive. With its Tuna Tower, the boat towered over the dock like the Hindenburg coming in for a landing. Once it left the dock, it spun on its axis in the cramped quarters of the Marina as the floating docks surged against the prop wash. Jeanette looked around her and all eyes in the Marina were now on Stuart's boat.

As Sid had recommended, Spencer, Jesse and David along with the Vineyard children remained on board the boat for the trip to Long Island. Both Anthony and Thomas would keep the boys company, and besides, a boat ride was a lot more exciting than a re-burial. Since Kenny was staying with Jeanette, Valerie begged for and received permission to stay with the toddler, and now the Dockmaster escorted Sid, Barry, Matthew, Jeanette, Kenny and Valerie up the ramp to have lunch. This was the second time Jeanette had made this journey, but this time, she felt just a little spookier.

"They're all staring at us. Has Uncle Sid got his zipper down or something?" she asked Barry very quietly. Barry chuckled deeply.

"That wouldn't attract attention: more likely it would scare them away! I'm sure if we came off just about any other boat, they wouldn't know we were here." He said.

Once seated, the patrons went back to their meals which couldn't come soon enough for Jeanette as the girl placed Kenny in a high chair in between her and Valerie. For the three year old, Valerie's presence in his life was one more person to play with and to be picked up by on demand. Stranger anxiety was unknown to Kenny or his four year old friend Timmy who remained back in Green Tree, but still, the appearance in his life of Dora, Thomas's family housekeeper, was slightly traumatic for the toddler. Like most Green Tree children who were raised at the school, he had never seen a black woman before. The Haitian woman could still not approach him after three days, yet he accepted Valerie as if she had been involved with him his entire life.

Halfway through reading the menu, the restaurant grew much quieter which once again drew Jeanette's attention. Now out of the harbor, just about every pair of eyes in the restaurant were watching Stuart's boat make a turn to the West as it's bow rose sharply out of the water and the boat picked up speed.

"There are much bigger boats here. Do they all draw this kind of attention?" Jeanette asked Sid as some of the smaller children now went to the windows to get a better look.

"Some of the larger boats do like the twelve meter yachts, or a boat owned by a known celebrity. It's not the size of Stuart's boat that makes it so special; it's the speed that the boat can go. That boat can be docked in Manhattan in two hours. It takes most of these boats a full day to do the same thing." Sid said.

"Why does he need to go that fast?" Jeanette asked.

"Uncle Stuart doesn't get much time off from the Hospital. When he does, he likes to go out fishing on the Grand Banks like he use to with Uncle Marty and Uncle Joel in their boat." Valerie explained.

"In the old days, they would take a whole day just to get out there. Now, Uncle Stuart can be out there fishing for hours and still get back the same day." She said with a dimpled smile.

By Green Tree standards, lunch was a light affair that had Kenny munching on shrimp and chicken in a basket. With a piece in each fist, the toddler kept Valerie greatly amused as he wore almost as much as he ate while Matthew distributed legal papers for Sid and Barry to review. By 12:30, Matthew and Barry recognized two maintenance crew members from school approaching the table. The time was now at hand to go to the Estate for the re-burial, something that couldn't have come at a better time for Jeanette since Kenny was now fully ready for a nap and the milk that always came along with it.

The drive back to the estate was fairly quiet, not so much because of the purpose of the trip but for the fact that Kenny was fast asleep before the SUV left Shoreham.

The 'New' Neighbors Arrive

Several days earlier, the estate was all but deserted except of the lone caretaker who was cutting the grass. Now, several van trucks, a back hoe and at least five vehicles could be seen as the driver pulled through the front gates.

"I came yesterday morning with Donald, Uncle Barry. The rest of us came yesterday afternoon." The driver said.

"Where did you stay?" Barry asked.

"At a Hotel in Old Harbor." The driver replied.

"Why didn't you just stay here?" Sid now asked.

"The water is shut off, so is the gas and electric Uncle Sid. Donald is working to put the water and gas back on now, but the electric and the telephone men won't come out until tomorrow." He reported.

"Have you seen anything of the neighbors?" Matthew asked.

"Not really. They go by the house a little slow, but nobody's stopped in or anything. Donald told the maintenance crew from Harvard to park their van so that any of the locals could see the markings on it. I guess if they have any questions, they'll be calling them." he said as he pulled up in front of the house.

"Who's paying for the rooms at the hotel and for your food and supplies?" Sid asked.

"It's all going on the University's credit cards Uncle Sid." The man replied. Sid now looked at Barry.

"Then I wouldn't worry about them coming around to ask any questions; they already know everything they need to know." Sid replied as Barry nodded.

"You think they checked with the hotel?" Matthew asked. Sid smiled.

"There might be 5,000 tourist on this Island today and very few people will ever know they were ever here. But once you brought that back hoe on this island, you can bet your bottom dollar the old timers wanted to know why! They might not know who you are, but they know where you are and what you're doing." Sid said. Barry agreed.

"Half these houses around here are relatively new. The other half are likely to have people in them who knew us. I think the best thing we can do is to try to find one of them." Barry now said.

"Why? Isn't it best to keep a low profile?" Matthew asked.

"Not from the old timers. They'll keep digging until they figure out why we're here. It's better to locate one of them who will turn around and let the rest of the old timers know faster than we could do it with a neon sign." Sid replied. Again, Barry nodded.

With Sid and Barry now leaving the estate once again to try to locate any childhood friends, Matthew and Jeanette once more toured the old Victorian mansion which was now being reopened for the first time in a dozen years or more. Much of the original furniture was now gone, and layers of dust covered everything in a grey film.

"We're documenting everything that's here Uncle Matthew, but most of it is trash like these drapes. The University is sending out its historical restoration team on Monday, but they need to know how extensive the restoration needs to be. Do Uncle Barry and Uncle Sid want it put back to its original condition?" the man asked.

"Only they can answer that question Allen. I guess it depends upon how much documentation is available on the house." Matthew replied as he studied an old picture over a fireplace.

"The lawyer from Providence gave the lawyers from the Institute the keys to a storage shed. They said there are boxes and boxes of stuff in there." The man replied.

"Make sure Uncle Barry knows about that!" Matthew instructed the man.

With Kenny now safely tucked to sleep on a blanket on the back lawn, Valerie watched over the sleeping toddler like a mother hen as Jeanette toured the grounds with Matthew.

A hundred yards or so from the house, a ring of hedges and some old oak trees marked the boundaries of the family's burial plot which stood a few hundred yards away from the small hill leading to the rocky beach beyond. A dozen or so headstones, some completely sandblasted of lettering marked each gravesite, and along the side, the back hoe had already dug two fresh graves and the vaults were already in the ground.

"The headstones will take about a month to make. Uncle Barry wanted them to make up four new one's with Uncle Kenny's last name on them." The man said more than a bit somberly.

"Did they find the baby?" Jeanette now asked.

"No. The Anthropology Department is going to send a team out to do some soundings and they're going to research the local Library and Historical Society. There might be a clue there where they buried the baby unless they buried it with her Mother when she died." He said.

"They died together?" Jeanette asked.

"No, the Mother lived for another 40 years, but they usually buried any younger children with the Mother back then once she died. They dug them back up and put them in the coffin with them back then according to the Anthropology Department." He said.

"That makes sense." Jeanette replied.

"What about the utilities?" Matthew now asked a man walking from the house.

"That water pump is so old Uncle Matthew that it doesn't even have a name! We're got a local plumber coming here to take a look at it, but I don't even know if it's a deep water well or shallow well." The man replied.

"And what about the gas Donald?" Matthew asked.

"We're tracing the line out now. I just don't want to turn the gas on if it's still hooked up to any of the lights in the house." He said.

"This house is like a museum. There's a furnace downstairs that was originally wood burning, was converted to coal and now runs on fuel oil. You don't even want to look at the toilets; they're still gravity fed!" the man exclaimed.

"And in the old days, they had a pot they slid under the bed if you had to go to the bathroom!" Sid said as he approached with Barry and two men nobody had ever seen before.

"And my Great Grandfather told me when I was a boy that he would have to walk out to the beach, winter or summer, if he needed to go and take his chances with the spider and horseshoe crabs biting at his rump!" one of the men said.

"We figured some low life developers had somehow gotten hold of the property. Once we seen you boys putting them vaults into the ground instead of taking them out, we called off the militia." The second man now said to Donald and Allen with a grin.

After introductions, Jeanette for one breathed much easier.

Both men knew all four of Kenny's boys as children although they were a few years older. Now approaching their 60s, they had never left the island and saw no real good reason to. After almost 45 years, they were back together, and more importantly to them, their "New" neighbors were their old neighbors and there weren't all that many left.

Roy was the last of his family still on the island and he lived in the next house up the beach from the estate. The second man was Will who lived in Shoreham with his daughter and her family. Finding the two men together wasn't all that strange; Sid and Barry had knocked on Roy's door while both men were upstairs in the attic watching the estate through a telescope. They wanted to know who was "Fucking around." next door.

The reception both Sid and Barry got was ice cold until both men realized who was standing on their doorstep. From that point on, the quiet re-burial plans got shot to hell.

"You can't just rebury them without giving the rest of them some kind of notice." Roy told Sid and Barry as the men looked at the newly dug gravesites.

"Tain't right, but you bury them without notice, and just maybe they won't show up at your funeral." Will told his two old friends in his deep New England accent.

"Or they won't invite you to theirs!" Roy added quite seriously.

"How many are there left here on the island?" Barry asked.

"Probably a dozen or so here on the island that will remember you, plus Muriel and Abigail who now live off island." Roy replied after some consulting with his friend.

"So we'll have the reburial tomorrow." Sid said.

"Short notice, but I guess we can do that for the folks who are still here, but Muriel and Abigail might need a little more time." Roy replied.

"Why?" Barry asked.

"They live in Saratoga." Will said.

"New York?" Matthew asked.

"Yup." Both men replied.

Once Captain Jim swung the boat around towards the West and Montauk Point, the boat surged ever faster as the throttles were pushed forward and the boys watched the red needles on the tachometers rise towards their goal of 6,000 R.P.M. The Captain had to smile as he looked at the children whose eyes were all glued to the instruments.

"We can make a little better time now, the sea has subsided." He told the children as they all crowded around the bench on the flying bridge.

"Why are those boats chasing us?" David asked as he looked at smaller boats on both sides who were trying to keep up with the Viking.

"They ain't chasing us; they're just trying to see if they can beat us. Right Captain Jim?" Richard asked.

"Yes." The man replied.

"Can they?" Jesse now asked.

"Every once in a while a speed boat has beaten us, but in heaver sea's, they usually can't keep it up for long." He told the boys as the Vineyard children all beamed with pride.

At 50 knots, the Viking now streaked on alone towards the piece of land 17 miles [27 km] away.

"I need a compass course to take me to the mouth of Lake Montauk. The closest one who gets us there without putting us on the rocks gets a special prize." Captain Jim now told the group of children who immediately headed for the Pilot house and their charts and instruments.

Within about five minutes, all the children had submitted a proposed course to the Captain who then grabbed a calculator and did the necessary calculations.

"None of you would have put us on the rocks, but the correct answer is 273 degrees. Some of you came very close and some of you would have us eating lunch on Gardner's Island, but Spencer's answer was exactly on course." Captain Jim told the group.

"Now Spencer, just to make sure you didn't come to that conclusion by chance or good luck, explain how you calculated that heading." He told the boy. As Spencer explained his process, both the Captain and his Son looked at each other. Properly taking into account such navigational necessities such as Variation, Deviation, Magnetic and True North, tidal and wind influence as well as the annual difference that would need to be considered as the boat moved westward, Spencer's answer was no idle guess. In pea soup fog, the boat would have reached its destination perfectly. In hours, Spencer had mastered what took Cadets at the Coast Guard Academy months to learn and put to memory.

"What's his prize?" Richard now wanted to know.

"When we get to the yacht club, we'll have to stop in at the Marine Store and figure that out." The Captain replied.

Probably more well known at the Star Island Yacht Club than she was on Block Island,

Stuart's boat's arrival was met by half a dozen dock workers with very smiling faces.

As an avid fisherman, Stuart spent a great deal of time fishing for tuna and swordfish in the waters offshore, and to get an invitation to fish on board his Viking was the pinnacle of honor for the local's. It also didn't hurt to remember that while Stuart was considered "Frugal" when it came to spending money, he was taught even as a boy on Marty and Joel's boat that "Taking care of" the help at Marina's and Yacht clubs always meant you would never hear the words, "Sorry, we're full" when you arrived in port.

Now, as eager hands grabbed docking lines, a small gaggle of children watched from the flying bridge. Having called ahead, the Club had moved several boats to make room for the Viking that now loomed over the docks.

"Welcome back Dr. ………., Captain Jim said you had some empty stomach's to fill." The Dockmaster said as he shook Stuart's hand.

"The kid's having been drooling since we left Block Island." Stuart replied with a smile. After ordering fuel, the Captain and his son and nephew joined the group that was already in the clubs restaurant. As they usually did for either a breakfast or luncheon meal, the children sat at their own table.

After telling the men at the table of Spencer's accomplishment, Stuart glanced over to the boy.

"He certainly appears to have a natural gift for things nautical, is this something you think the people at his school would foster and encourage?" Stuart asked his Brother Thomas.

"I'm sure if Spencer were to indicate his preference for pursuing a career on the water, they would look into it for him. What do you think Anthony?" Thomas replied.

"You mean after he graduates High School right?" Anthony asked.

"I would assume so unless he indicated he wanted to go to a Prep. School that would give him a head start on his studies," Thomas replied.

"Uncle Sid said he had to finish High School first. He didn't say anything about a Prep School." Anthony replied as his blood pressure rose.

"And I'm not saying he's going to one. But if he decided to, we wouldn't hold him back would we?" Thomas asked.

"I need to talk to Uncle Sid about that." Anthony said as he got up and left the table.

"Trouble?" Charles asked once Anthony left the restaurant for the boat. Thomas shook his head.

"When it comes time to give up the children, you have Dora to contend with. We have Anthony when it comes to Spencer." He told his Brother.

"Do you think he would hold the boy back?" Phillip now asked.

"I think that's Anthony's problem. He knows that neither Sid nor Bert would allow that to happen. When push comes to shove, the child's needs always come first with staff," Thomas replied. Stuart nodded his head.

Following lunch, the Captain's son and nephew returned to the boat while the adults took a tour of the area to walk off a few pounds. In the meantime, the Captain knew very well that his offer of a prize to Spencer was a priority on the Vineyard children's minds.

He also knew that once inside the Ship's Store, he'd be lucky to escape with his credit card intact. With a list left with the store manager, a package was delivered to the boat before he reached the check out counter and half a dozen pieces of clothing picked out by the runner ups. Spencer was quite happy with a Captain's hat.

Once the adults rejoined the children back on the boat, a leisurely tour of Block Island Sound was in order so that the boat didn't have to sit in Block Island for too long waiting for the re-burial to take place. Once the boat cleared the Lake, Spencer's real prize was unveiled by the Captain as Anthony's mood soured by the second. A brand new Garmin hand held GPS receiver along with a navigators kit of tools and a Maptech Chartkit was presented to Spencer on the flying bridge. Once the batteries brought the GPS to life, Spencer was lost in a sea of technology as Anthony retreated to the lounge and ordered a drink.

"That's an awfully extravagant gift to give a boy you just met. Is the Captain always that generous with his money?" Anthony asked trying to cover his displeasure with minimum politeness.

Stuart's age was not the only reason he was the head of his family's vast financial successes, nor did the man achieve his ranking in the medical profession because he was a fool. He fully recognized Anthony's fear and jealousy for what it was; insecurity as to his position with Spencer. Within Stuart's own family of eight "Adopted" brother's, it wasn't the first time the problem had come up between the boys and their Patron's, Marty and Joel.

"It wasn't a cheap gift, but I'm sure the Captain considered it a gift that was worth the price. If Spencer does nothing more than master the use of the GPS, at least he'll never get lost regardless of what he decides to do with his life. I'm sure he considers it a learning tool and nothing more." Stuart replied.

"There's also at least a half dozen of them on board for all the children to practice with, and they all have their own personal units at home. As for extravagance, David's horse was an extravagance, compared to her, this is chicken feed." Stuart said with an eye towards his younger brother. Thomas now smiled.

"That horse didn't cost more than what you spend for fuel in one week!" he told his brother.

"It just seems silly to give him stuff that he won't be able to use once we return to Green Tree." Anthony said ignoring the chuckles that had erupted from Thomas's remark.

"Using a GPS isn't limited to the water. Even cars nowadays have built in GPS instruments in them. Once he learns how to use it, it's impossible for him to get lost anywhere in the world." Stuart replied.

"Do you condone your Captain showering your children with gifts to ingratiate himself to them?" Anthony asked.

The very brief silence in the lounge was broken when Thomas now stood up fully ready to rip into the man who spoke like a child. Stuart immediately intervened knowing that the words were said to sting, and they did.

"Shut the door to the Galley Thomas, we won't have Ronny hearing any of this garbage." Stuart told his Brother curtly. Anthony began to apologize, but Stuart cut him off.

"I understand you spent some time at College. Were you studying to become a lawyer?" he asked.

"No sir, I was taking courses in Elementary Education." Anthony replied.

"Then perhaps if you return to school, you might want to consider taking up the legal profession. You appear to have a knack for using pejorative words or phrases to describe an innocent act of kindness. Only a very devious lawyer can turn a simple offer of a present or gift to a child into an invitation to take that child into their bed." Stuart said "That was the real purpose of the question wasn't it?"

Again, Anthony attempted to apologize once more, but Stuart wasn't about to let him off the hook so easily. Like all of his brother's, Stuart had spent weeks in Court listening to the prosecutors and judge try to send Marty to prison by twisting and distorting every single move the man had ever made in his life. The man who fed, clothed, housed, educated and loved them when no one else was appearing at their doorstep was dragged through the mud by people who didn't deserve to lick his shoes clean. Now, they were hearing some of the same words.

"Captain Jim has been with us now for the past five years. He's a kind and generous man who has given all of the children gifts when he felt it was proper and appropriate.

We do not see a gift in a child's hand, or a pat on the head, or a hug as a sure sign that he's trying to "Groom" them, we see it for what it was, a simple act of kindness. I resent the implications of your words Anthony, if you cannot control your insecurities, then perhaps you need to reconsider our offer of hospitality." Stuart said sternly.

"I didn't mean to………." Once more, Anthony was interrupted.

"That's exactly what you meant. For every single word in the English language that can be taken as a positive, there is a negative that can be substituted for it. The most successful lawyers in the world aren't successful because they're knowledgeable in the law, but because they've mastered the English language, and the ability to turn white into black for gullible jurors who don't have the ability to think for themselves. We're surrounded by complete assholes Anthony who would destroy us due to their own sense of self loathing for who they are and what they've done in their past. They don't need any help from us, so figure out exactly who your friends are and who your enemies are or you'll wake up one day a very lonely man." Stuart said.

"I'm sorry Tom-tom, but it needed to be said." Stuart said once Thomas returned from the master cabin where Anthony had gone to rest after Thomas gave him an anti depressant and a sleeping pill. Thomas nodded his head.

"Once we get back to Block Island, I'm going to need to call Bert on a land line. How soon before Spencer can return to school?" he now asked Charles.

"As long as he doesn't develop any infections, he can go home by Friday I guess." Charles replied.

"Why? Did Anthony say he wanted to leave?" Thomas shook his head.

"He didn't say anything, but I'm not the one he talks to, Sid is. Once we get him back to Sid, he'll know how to handle Anthony. The shame is, I don't really think Spencer will want to leave so soon. He looks pretty happy here," Thomas replied.

"So let Anthony go home and let Spencer stay here." Phillip now said.

Thomas smile and laughed a bit.

"They don't quite move like we do. If one of us gets pissed, we go somewhere and sulk until it's over. These people are more like dominoes; if one goes down, it creates a chain reaction. If Anthony leaves, Spencer will follow him and then Sid will follow him. Jeanette will look after Spencer taking Kenny with her. Now, Jesse's out the door following Sid and David will want to stay with Jesse and Spencer, which leaves me who's following David out the door. There are a few words that don't apply at Green Tree; "Autonomy" is one of them!" Thomas said.

"You think he'll decide to go home?" Stuart asked.

"If Sid thinks he's depressed, he won't take the chance; he'll get him back to school and double team him with Bert. Geppetto boys are highly prone to depression; the Institute thinks it's genetic."

"Do you think he would attempt to harm himself?" Cory asked.

"If Spencer were removed from him, probably," Thomas replied as he poured himself a drink.

"How in the world do they maintain order and discipline with their people if they can't be scolded without falling apart?" Stuart asked.

"Probably the same way we do. If one of our kids gets blown out of their socks, we know damned well they're going to be climbing into Dora's lap. Green Tree children don't have Dora; they have a primary Aunt or Uncle to go crying to," Thomas replied.

"Anthony is hardly a child; he's a full grown man." Stuart now said.

"So am I and so is Steven, but you wouldn't want to be the one's coming between David and me or Steven and Paulie would you?" Thomas asked his brother's.

"Tom-tom, nobody here is trying to come between them." Phillip replied.

"That's true Phillip, but Anthony doesn't know that, he takes any act that might try to create distance between Spencer and himself as a threat. We take the Captains gift for what it was; a gift.

He views it as an attempt to lure Spencer away from him," Thomas replied. Stuart now shook his head as he stood up to refresh his drink.

"You missed your calling Tom-tom, you're beginning to sound more like a Child Psychiatrist instead of a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon!" he said as his brothers all chuckled.

On the flying bridge the children were completely unaware of the conversations going on in the Lounge. Spencer was thrilled to the core as the Captain's son handed him the GPS that was clicking off the boats longitude and latitude as it now cruised towards Gardners Island. With all three Green Tree boys now glued to the screen, the Vineyard children explained what the machine was doing and how it was doing it. Normally, the Captain was being pestered by them to allow the children to drive the boat. Now, they had become teachers themselves for the time being as he handed the wheel over to his son.

For the next hour or so, the boat would cruise towards Fisher's Island before turning back towards the South to re enter the Great Salt Pond at New Harbor. It was questionable whether Spencer even saw Fisher's Island as he immersed himself into the inner workings of the GPS and the Vikings radar screen.

To Matthew, the scene that was unfolding before him was a little reminiscent of a film he had seen long ago called "The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming!"

Block Island could have doubled for the fictional island of Gloucester in the movie, and some of the character's that were now beginning to appear at the estate as Roy and Will spread the word about Sid and Barry's presence, were striking in similarity, especially when it came to movement and manner of speech. He had no idea what Muriel and Abigail looked like, but wouldn't have been at all surprised if they showed up on a motorcycle and sidecar.

"Exactly what do these people know about Geppetto?" Matthew asked Sid and Barry once he got the two alone.

"Absolutely nothing. Uncle Kenny didn't want any of the local's getting hurt if the shit hit the fan and uncle sam sent some big guns out to find us." Sid replied.

"Their parents were told we were orphan's who were being held at Pilgrim State Insane Asylum and that we were scheduled for lobotomies." Sid said.

"According to Uncle Kenny, they all had a meeting at Roy's house the night after we arrived and decided that the State of New York would have four less zombies to manufacture." He said.

"Why would they believe that anyone would lobotomize you?" Matthew asked.

"Because every islander from Prince Edward Island to Shelter Island knew what Joe Kennedy had done to his daughter, Rosemary. In those days, if you had a child you didn't want pro creating, you sent them to the nut house and they stuck a rod into their brain through the eye socket and scrambled things up a bit. It was easier, faster, and cheaper than castration." Sid replied.

"It was easier to sell the concept of the State lobotomizing a child instead of castrating them, the Islander's knew it was a common practice."

It was a minute or two before Matthew could think passed his rage and sadness.

"What did the parents tell their children? Nobody would lay this stuff on little kids." He said.

"They were simply told that we were orphan's who were being kept in a mental hospital and Uncle Kenny wanted us out of there so he could adopt us." Barry replied.

"As far as they're concerned, that's exactly what happened." Sid said as Matthew nodded his head.

"What about the re burial?" Matthew now asked.

"Muriel and Abby have been contacted and want to be here. The earliest they can be here is tomorrow afternoon. We have a car picking them up in Saratoga tomorrow morning and a plane that can land here waiting for them in Albany. The re burial can take place Thursday morning." Barry now said as he looked at his notes.

"And what about your plans?" Matthew asked.

"There's a ton of stuff to work through before then so we want to stay here if we can convince Sid's escort's that he's not going to jump off the cliff's at Monhegan Bluff's." Barry replied with a small smile.

"The first thing we'll have to do is to let Stuart know what's going on. He's going to be coming back by now." Matthew said as he looked at his watch.

With Matthew now on the cell phone to Stuart's boat, several trucks pulled onto the grounds as Matthew's Chief Engineer from The New Hampshire School approached the three men standing just off the beach.

"Yesterday and this morning, we couldn't get anything done around here without making an appointment two weeks in advance. Now all of a sudden, they're coming out of the woodwork to get things up and running." Donald said as two electric company snorkels lifted up towards the wires on the electric poles.

"There are two plumbers in the basement putting the pump back on-line Uncle Barry. They said you'd have water in about an hour. You two seem to have friend's in some very high places on this Island." He said smiling.

"I spoke to Thomas. The boat is about a half hour out. He wants you to be there when she lands." Matthew told Sid as he got off the cell phone.

"Problems?" Sid asked.

"He didn't elaborate, so I have to assume its school business." Matthew replied as Sid nodded his head. With Barry staying behind and making arrangements to have dinner at the hotel in Old Harbor, Sid and Matthew took Jeanette, Valerie and Kenny back to the Marina. During the 15 minute car ride, Matthew's phone rang four times and Sid knew once again why he was happy Green Tree had no such devises.

"Dr. Lester is on his way. He got held up and thought he had missed the re-burial." Matthew told Sid.

"We can pick him up at the Ferry Dock." Sid once more nodded, but his mind was on Stuart's boat. He assumed the problem was Anthony or Spencer, or both.

Dr. Lester smiled broadly as he came down the ferry dock with his 15 year old Grandson walking beside him.

"Did you know he was bringing him?" Sid now asked Matthew.

"No, Dr. Lester takes Bobby out of School at will, but he didn't mention anything about bringing him along this time." Matthew replied as surprised as Sid was at seeing the boy. After introductions, the group now drove over to the Marina as Stuart's boat was entering the harbor. Bobby's attention span was markedly increased once the boy realized the huge floating fishing pole approaching the dock had something to do with him and the people he was with. As the dock boys scurried about setting lines and receiving water hoses and electric lines to plug into the boat, excited greetings to Sid, Jeanette, Valerie and Bobby's Grandfather floated down from the flying bridge.

With Anthony just awakening and waiting for Spencer, Thomas walked onto the dock and beckoned Sid to take a short walk with him.

"We know he's standing on thin ice,

we don't have to jump up and down to test it do we?" Sid asked Thomas after the Doctor related the afternoon's conversation.

"My brother's know the basics of Geppetto Sid, but they haven't been shown the skid marks on everybody's underwear. I've never explained to them the depression that can cripple one of the boys. Have you?" Thomas asked in defense of Stuart.

"As much as you hate the government for what they did to you, my brother's and I hate the legal system for what they tried to do to our brother Marty. When Anthony started to insinuate, Stuart shut him down. I would have done the same," Thomas said.

"Am I going to be talking to Anthony or someone on cloud nine?" Sid now asked.

"300 milligrams of Demerol isn't going to have him doing many math calculations anytime soon, but he knows who he is and what he's feeling," Thomas replied.

As the Vineyard children and the boys from Green Tree now showed Dr. Lester's Grandson the boat from stem to stern, the adults once more convened in the Lounge to determine the schedule for the next few days. Sid had sent Jeanette with Anthony and Spencer to rent a suite at the Marina, and Valerie accompanied them with Kenny attached to her hip with no complaints from the toddler.

"The reburial is scheduled for Thursday morning and unless Anthony has to be returned to school before then, he'll stay with me." Sid told the assembled.

"I'm sure if we don't get those kids back to the Vineyards, we're going to have two people on Demerol, so we could take the ferry back to the mainland on Thursday and take the train up to New Bedford and catch the ferry back to the Vineyards or even go back to the Charles Hotel. They must think we died by now." Sid told the group.

"We would much prefer you stayed with us. I had no intentions of telling Anthony he wasn't welcome to stay in our house; he merely chose a very poor choice of words that struck a raw nerve." Stuart replied.

"Thomas explained that and I understand wholeheartedly. Anthony's got a raging battle going on within himself and he oftentimes strikes at windmills. I know it's a little hard to understand, but that fully grown man can sometimes behave like a 14 year old and it's tough to try to talk to him while he's curled up in your lap like a little boy." Sid said.

"What about some medication to help smooth some of the bumps in the road." Dr. Lester asked.

"Bert and I have always been able to reach him without bringing in the chemical straight jackets Doc, but if that's what's necessary, don't close down the pharmacy." Sid replied.

"If Anthony stays here, does that automatically mean that Spencer stays also?" Phillip now asked.

"A week ago I would have said "Yes". Today, possibly not. We have the medical excuse of his surgery that could be invoked to keep him with you, and there's also the magnet of the boat. The biggest nut would be to overcome his resistance to leaving Anthony. He just might not be so resistant now that he's gotten a taste of nautical life." Sid said as Dr. Lester nodded.

"So if he goes, Jesse and David will go with them?" Charles now asked. Sid now sat back and smiled a bit as he sipped his screwdriver.

"David will go unless he thinks someone is in crises. Jesse may or may not go, you'd have to ask Jeanette for the answer to that question." He replied.

It was now Thomas's turn to smile.

"Jesse is here to keep track of his favorite Uncle and report back to Bert if he's miss-behaving himself. With Matthew, Dr. Lester and half a dozen staff from The New Hampshire School bird-dogging him, Jesse will feel comfortable with allowing Sid out of his sight for the night." He said as the rest of the group smiled somewhat. Sid bent his head down a little as he shook it.

"Sometimes Paulie, they even let me go to the bathroom all by myself. Ain't I lucky?" He asked Thomas's youngest brother as the boy giggled a bit.

With time to return to the Vineyard for dinner quickly running out, the decision was made to return with everyone except for Sid, Anthony and the people from The New Hampshire School. On Thursday, the boat would return to the island to pick up its passengers after the re-burial.

"You may have forgotten all about it, but you just underwent some pretty serious surgery that is still healing. There's always a risk of infection, and Uncle Thomas wants to keep you under close surveillance until that risk is gone." Sid said to Spencer as the man entered the Suite that had just been rented.

"I need to have some private Talk Time with Anthony so I want him to stay here with me Spencer. The boat will be returning for us after the re-burial, and you'll all be back here to pick us up." Sid told the boy.

"How come we can't just stay here with you?" Spencer asked.

"Several reason's, not the least of which is security. We've got a lot to do, and the safest place for you guys is on the Vineyard with Uncle Thomas and his family." Sid replied.

"I can get all my work done, Anthony and I can have our Talk Time and we won't have to worry whether you guys are safe or not. It's the best way to get things done. Besides, Dora will have a stroke if you don't show up for dinner." Sid said. Spencer now smiled for the first time.

"She sure does cry a lot!" he said.

"Yeah, she kind of reminds me of Uncle Bert, don't she?" Sid asked with a smile.

Using the excuse that he needed to get back to the house, Sid and Anthony left the Marina ahead of the boat's departure. Sid wanted nothing to do with any scene on the dock by Anthony, and wasn't all that sure how the man was going to react.

"What time are they coming back tomorrow?" Anthony asked as the SUV drove through Shoreham.

"They'll be back after the re-burial Anthony, that's on Thursday morning." Sid replied.

"Thursday? Why Thursday?" Anthony asked.

"There are two people flying in tomorrow, and they can't get here in time for a service tomorrow, so it's going to be held on Thursday." Sid said.

"What's Spencer going to be doing?" Anthony now asked.

"He'll probably either be resting or maybe fishing. It's really up to Uncle Thomas." Sid replied.

Several minutes of silence now ensued as the vehicle made its way up the hills of the island headed towards Dickens Point.

"If they don't want me back at their house and I have to go back to the Hotel, Spencer will come with me, right Uncle Sid?" Anthony finally asked.

"I spoke to Uncle Thomas's brother's. Despite the fact that you chose your words very immaturely, you are still welcome in their home Anthony, but you need to keep in mind that no one is conspiring to take Spencer away from you. In a short while, we'll all be returning to school and everything will get back to normal. But that isn't going to happen if you don't settle yourself down and start behaving rationally." Sid said sternly.

"We've got water, electricity, plumbing, gas and the telephone man says we'll have a temporary line into the house in about an hour." Barry said as Sid pulled up to the house with at least a half dozen more utility trucks littering the property. Under the pretense of Sid needing his help, Anthony was put to work taking notes regarding the renovation and opening of the house that now looked a bit like a construction zone.

"What about the staff apartment?" Sid asked Barry.

"It's being cleaned out now but the utilities are in and we have a shipment of furniture coming in on tomorrow's ferry. The place will be ready by tomorrow evening." Barry replied.

With a dinner at the Hotel in Old Harbor set for 7:00, it now dawned on Matthew that nobody except for the maintenance crew from school had any change of clothing including Dr. Lester and his Grandson. At a little past 5:00 the department store's that sold men's and boys clothing on the island were closed which presented no problem to Sid and Bert's old friends who knew who to call to reopen a store for them. For Bobby, it was a lesson learned on the value of boyhood friendships.

Once the tour of the boat was completed and Bobby left with his Grandfather, all the children now converged on the flying bridge as one by one they climbed up the tuna tower to take a look around the harbor. From that vantage point, the children were now level with the people eating in the Marina's restaurant and those outside on the surrounding deck.

"It kind of makes you feel a little funny." Spencer said as he looked towards the Marina.

"What does?" Richard asked.

"All them people staring at us." Spencer replied.

"Ya get use to it. Besides, they ain't looking at us, they're looking at Daddy's boat." The nine year old said.

Now looking out towards the mouth of the harbor, Spencer spotted a small white boat streaking across the flats.

"Ain't that the boy who brought your Father the clams?" Spencer now asked.

"Yes, Ronny told him to bring us some fresh lobster if he had any."

Richard said as the boy in the Boston Whaler now weaved in and out around the boats moored in the harbor at full throttle.

"Where does he get them?" Spencer asked as his eyes stayed glued to the Whaler in deep envy.

"He prob'ly gots his own lobster pots.

Most of the kids around here does." Richard answered as the boy in the boat backed off just before reaching the Viking.

"Where did he get a boat like that?" Spencer asked as the 40 horsepower engine idled down and the boy expertly slid in between two yachts tied up to the dock.

"He prob'ly bought it himself. You can make a lot of money selling clams, lobsters, worms and fish. Most of the kid's start off in their own homemade boats that they build themselves, but once they make enough money, they buy a bigger and better boat." Richard replied knowingly.

"How much do they cost?" Spencer now asked as the boy approached carrying a box.

"A lot. They gotta save up their money for years my Dad says before they can afford to buy a boat like that." Richard said.

"Ask my Dad or Captain Jim. They'll know."

Spencer's curiosity had the boy now climbing down the tuna tower as he headed for the Aft Deck where the boy was now showing his catch to Ronny and the Captain. Peering into the box, two dozen live lobster crawled around a bed of seaweed looking for a place to hide.

"How's ten bucks apiece sound?" Ronny asked the boy.

"Not as good as fifteen." The boy very quickly responded.

"I gotta build 36 new pots this winter." He said as he looked at the Captain.

"You're pulling those pots by hand?" the Captain asked the boy.

"Yeah. Maybe next year I can buy a winch Captain Jim." The boy said with a smile.

"Then we better pay him fifteen bucks before it becomes twenty." The Captain told his nephew.

Spencer now watched in even deeper envy as this boy, who was not that much older or bigger than himself, stood with his hand out as Ronny opened his cash box to pay the boy. $360.00 later, the boy hopped off the boat with the cash stuck down his bathing suit and Spencer's head spinning a little.

"Thanks Captain Jim. I threw in two extra lobsters."

The boy now said as he stood on the dock.

Once back underway, Spencer returned to the flying bridge with plenty of fresh questions on his mind.

"He sure made an awful lot of money. He must be very rich." Spencer told the Captain.

"I'm sure he most probably has a pretty good savings account, but he's a little young yet to be rich." The Captain replied.

"He made $380.00 just from you today." Spencer said deep in thought.

"Yes, but to make that money, he had to buy a boat that probably cost pretty close to $5,000.00. Then he has maintenance and repair costs along with fuel. Just to fill up the gas tank cost probably close to $75.00 alone." The Captain replied.

"What you saw Spencer was the easy part. Before his hand was filled with cash, he had to dig clams for probably an hour or more. Then he had to spend hours lifting 50 pound [22 kg] lobster pots up off the bottom by hand. Each pot was probably 20 to 30 feet [6-9 m] down. Just to get those two dozen lobsters for us, he probably lifted three or four dozen pots.

Trust me, he earns every single penny he makes and he has to make that money before the winter shuts him down for months on end." he told Spencer.

"Maybe his parents bought the boat for him!" David now said.

"It's possible, but highly unlikely. If they did anything, it was to get a loan for him from the bank and then he was responsible for repaying the loan. Usually the boys save up their money for a few years and pay cash for a boat. That's why you see the younger boys running around in old boats that most of them made by themselves." Spencer's attention was now drawn to the boy in the Whaler who was flying back across the flats.

"See that yellow house?" the Captain asked as he pointed towards the Coast Guard Station.

"That's where he lives." he said.

Spencer said nothing but his wheels were turning as he watched the boy with an ever growing envy he never experienced before. Spencer had never even thought about life beyond Green Tree before, now, that was no longer the case. To Spencer, that boy was a mixture of Huckleberry Finn and Robinson Crusoe. He was free and independent and had the whole world laid out before him in adventure.

Jeanette kept an extremely wary eye on Spencer as the boat once more left the harbor.

The run back to the Vineyard was a little over 40 miles, but the children had been restricted to the boat since the early morning and a side trip for a quick dip was almost expected by the Vineyard children. Once anchored in a cove with nothing but other boaters around them with skinny dipping children on board, the clothing began dropping like snowflakes from the flying bridge. If Spencer was in any distress due to Anthony's absence, Jeanette and Thomas didn't see it as his bandages were removed by Valerie and he slid into the water like an otter. On the flying bridge, the Captain and his son stood watch with rifle's discreetly handy in case of need. Attacks didn't happen often, but often enough. Fortunately for the boys, Jeanette knew none of that until the last day swimming.

Watching Spencer now standing naked without complaint or objection while Valerie took off his bandages, Jeanette shook her head.

"Last week I would have bet $100.00

that any girl who tried that would have ended up with a black eye." She said as Spencer stood motionless.

"I would have taken that bet. You have to remember, Spencer's been living with Carla and Jeannie for almost a year now. Those two are capable of unfreezing an iceberg," Thomas said as Jeanette nodded her head in agreement.

With a nervous look to his son, the Captain watched as Kenny jumped into the water with arms and legs flying. Once on the surface again, the toddler was tossed into a tube that held netting in the center. The water was a tad chillier than the boy was use to but the salt water was familiar to him since he had learned to swim in the cove in Florida.

Satisfied that Kenny had the necessary coverage, Jeanette returned to the Lounge as the only female among Thomas and his brother's. Living in an all male world was nothing new to the girl; at Green Tree the ratio was now close to eight to 1. Like Johanna, Gloria and Sarah, she was quite comfortable in this situation and had both the looks and the brains to not be intimidated or feel out of place in a sea of extremely powerful men.

After being handed an ice tea, the girl sat back on the coach observing her surroundings. As Thomas shifted over beside her and took her hand.

"You don't drink alcohol?" Charles asked the girl. Jeanette smiled at the question.

"Usually not during the day. I'll drink some wine at dinnertime, but Kenny gets very mellow if I drink too much and I don't want him getting bombed." She said with a smile.

"Richard use to react to alcohol when he was still breastfeeding." Stuart now volunteered.

"But as I recall, Richard would be anything but mellow." Charles reminded his brother as they all chuckled. Stuart reluctantly nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Hopefully Tom-tom, you've advised Jeanette about Dora's reaction if she even thinks that anything is going on between you and your very charming friend. The last thing you want to do is to scare her away." Stuart said.

"I think it's too late Stuart; Dora was watching from the East Portico when we left the house this morning. She might not have seen the two of them going down the stairs hand-in-hand, but I wouldn't bank on it!" Cory now said.

"Then you've got some educating to do Tom-tom, if Dora smells a match-up, life is going to be hell until the knot is tied!" Charles now added as the group once again chuckled.

"Thomas and I are just very good friends." Jeanette now replied a little pink in the face.

"Around Dora, there's no such thing as very good friends. If she thinks you're involved, obviously there's a wedding down the pike. If one of the children sneezes, she thinks its pneumonia. If one of them scrapes their knee, it's an amputation. If someone's late for dinner, they got into an accident and died. Nothing is minor as far as Dora is concerned. If I didn't know she was Haitian, I would think she was a Jewish Mother." Stuart replied with a smile.

"You'll know you're in trouble if she starts to make dresses for you." Phillip now said.

"She's not really interested in dresses at all; she's actually getting you fitted for a wedding dress." He said as the rest of the group all nodded agreement.

"Really?" Jeanette asked Thomas who nodded.

"Dora has made every single wedding dress as well as the Bridesmaid's and Flower girl's dresses since Stuart's wedding. There's a very large colony of negro's on the Vineyards and most are Sister's in the church that Dora attends. Our family has been a strong supporter of the Church going all the way back to our Brother Marty and Uncle Joel's parents. Traditionally, those women make all the dresses. If Dora takes measurements on you, you can bank on those women making wedding plans, with or without your approval," Thomas replied.

"What'cha laughing about Daddy?" Richard asked as he entered the Lounge dripping wet along with several of his cousins.

"We were discussing how Dora might react if we were late for dinner." Stuart replied as he grabbed for a towel and put it on his lap.

"All finished swimming?" Stuart asked as his son now climbed into his lap.

"Captain Jim say's we gotta get goin." Richard reported as Kenny now waddled towards Jeanette holding onto his bottom.

"Poopy time?" Jeanette asked as Kenny climbed up the girls legs.

"Poopy and play." The boy said regardless of the company present.

"Can the boys shower while the boat is moving?" Jeanette asked as she got up with Kenny attached to her chest.

"No problem, I'll let the Captain know not to make any sudden moves." Stuart replied getting up.

Handing Kenny over to David once she went to the Master head, Jeanette turned on the shower as the two boys closed the door.

"After he goes to the bathroom, he'll want to play on the floor of the shower if you want to join him." Jeanette said to Valerie without elaborating.

With both Kenny and David Scale three Geppetto boys, little had to be said as the toddler was seated on the toilet in David's lap as the toddler went about his business to have a bowel movement. Once finished, the boy needed to say nothing as his penis stiffened in David's hand. Wrapping his other arm around the toddlers waist, Kenny sat back as David poured a large glob of baby shampoo on the baby's groin and began to knead the childs genitals in his other hand. The process was a quick one as Kenny's body grew rigid in David's lap as the boy grunted upon climax with a very satisfied smile on his face and a hazy, far away look in his eyes.

It would be another three hours of so before Kenny felt the pressing need to climax once again, but for the time being, he was almost ready to resume life as a "Normal" toddler.

"Happy?" Jeanette asked the boy as David handed him over to Jeanette.

"Happy." Kenny cooed as his very pink and glistening little penis slowly returned to sleep as his last throbs pressed on his caretaker's stomach while she caressed and patted his bottom with a tenderness that usually put him to sleep every night.

As Valerie shampooed the boys hair in the shower, Kenny drifted off to sleep as the hum of the engines rose in volume.

NEXT PART