Souchard

By: Will B
(© 2009-2010 by the author)
 

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 14

Morning was breaking over the hills, bringing sunshine into the Souchard Hotel with a promise of a beautiful day. Pete was in the kitchen breaking eggs into a hot skillet, bringing tempting smells into the kitchen and dining room, with the promise of a delicious breakfast to come.

Jerry was waking up from a good night’s sleep, and he became aware of Trace’s arm around him. Trace’s man-smell was bringing Jerry into an awareness of his husband’s nearness, with a promise of many wonderful days with this man whom he loved with all his heart.

“Ummm! Good morning, love,” Jerry said.

“Good morning to you, too, sweetheart,” Trace replied.

“Today’s the day, isn’t it, Trace?”

“It is, indeed. Should we tell the boys now?”

“I think so. Then we’ll tell everyone else at breakfast,” Jerry said.

Trace got up and walked down the hall to Ricky and George’s room. “Boys, get yourselves decent, and come down to our room. We have something nice to tell you.”

In a few minutes Ricky and George appeared at the door of their two dads’ room.

The two boys, now 15, had undergone growth spurts in the last months. They were both taller and slenderer, and their bodies were beginning to show some muscle tone. Ricky was now four-feet-eleven, and George was just five feet tall. The two boys had been good friends but had been thrown out of their respective homes, and ended up at the Souchard.

Both had been adopted by Jerry and Trace and no men ever had finer sons.

“Sit down, boys,” said Trace. “We have your reports from Bruce and Chad, and you both have done very well this year.”

Ricky and George looked at each other, smiled, and bumped fists.

“George, I see you did exceptionally well in history, “Jerry said. “And Ricky, you did well in American and English literature.”

“I like reading about how people lived I the past,” George said.

“And I like to read about how people interacted with each other in the various books I’ve read.”

“Well,” Jerry said, “your dad and I have decided you need to have more learning about the past, and about how people lived and worked together, so we’ve developed a study plan for you.”

“But, Dad!” Ricky said, “it’s summer.”

“No, son, our minds are made up,” Trace said with the trace of a grin on his face.

“Do we have to…?” George began.

“No,” Jerry laughed. “It’s not reading ….we’re going to England!”

“England? Dad’s that wonderful,” Ricky said.

George just sat there with a grin on his face, thinking about the sights he would see: the Tower of London, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben…, all the places he’d read about.

“Can Trace and I assume you two like the idea?” Jerry asked.

“Oh, yes, YES!” both boys answered.

Trace and Jerry had sent word to everyone at the residence and to all the guests in the hotel to please join them for breakfast as they had an important announcement to make. Everyone showed up, curious about this ‘mysterious announcement.’

Chet and Gerald ate their breakfast calmly, because they had been in on the planning, and they knew what was to come.

Bruce, Chad, Tom, and Stan, the teachers at the residence, were there with all their students. The young boys were more interested in the delicious breakfast that was being served, but their teachers/house parents wondered what the announcement would be.

When breakfast was over and everyone was dabbing at their lips with their napkins, Jerry stood up.

“I’d like to tell you all that Trace and I, and Ricky and George, are going on a vacation for about two weeks,” he said. “We’re going to England, and we’re leaving tomorrow.”

There was an outburst of applause, and Jerry continued, "We want the boys to see some of the places they’ve read about in the history books.”

“And,” added Trace, “I’ve always had a desire to see the town where my great-grandmother was born.”

Sam and Pete will be in charge of the Hotel while we’re gone, and Chad, Bruce, Stan, and Tom will be in charge of the school and the residence,” Jerry continued.

When the hub-bub of conversation had died down, Ricky and George went to pack and Trace and Jerry enjoyed a last cup of coffee with Chet and Gerald.

“How will you get to England?” asked Gerald.

“We had an e-mail from the Sheik and he said if we ever wanted to go somewhere on a vacation, he would put his jet at our disposal,” Jerry answered.

“Trace, what do you know about your family history?” inquired Chet.

“I was born in 1972 in Cleveland; my Dad, John, was born in 1940 in New York, where my Grandmother, Mary Ellen Murray, was born in 1918. Her mother, Victoria Alice Shepherd, was born in England in 1897 and came to this country in 1916. She met my Great-grandfather, Louis Murray, and married him in 1917.”

“What was the town where she was born?” asked Chet.

“It’s a little town in Middlesex, called Northolt,” said Trace.

“No way!” said Chet. “That’s not too far from Smith Manor. You really ought to stop and visit with the people there. I’ll send an e-mail of introduction to Jane Danvers, the housekeeper … or maybe ‘housemother’ would be a better term. She has a group of young lads who were rescued from a dangerous situation in London. Ricky and George might enjoy meeting them, and some other young men who were refugees.”

“Hmmm. We’ll see,” said Jerry.

Chet got busy with the e-mail, and later that day, he was able to tell Trace and Jerry that they and the boys would all be welcome to stay for a couple of days at Smith Manor.

“Jane suggested that you might want to hire a car and driver for a day or two while you visit Northolt,” Chet said.

“That is awfully nice of her,” said Trace.

“She’s a nice person,” was the reply.

The next afternoon, the travelers were packed and ready when a limousine pulled up to the front door of the Souchard.  The driver got out, and Trace and Jerry saw that it was Ishtar, the sixth son of Sheik Mohammed Farouk.

“My father sends greetings to his two friends,” Ishtar said.

“May your father be well,” said Trace. “These are our adopted sons, Ricky and George.”

Ishtar shook the two boys’ hands, and in a trice, the luggage was stowed in the trunk and the party was off to the airport.

“Dad,” Ricky wanted to know, “how did you meet the Sheik, and why is he doing all of this?”

“It was a year or two ago, and we did the Sheik a small favor,” Trace said.

“Ah, my young friend,” interjected Ishtar. “It was no small favor. Your two dads saved the life of our youngest sister, Prince Yasmin.”

“How did you save her, Dad?” asked George.

“I’ll tell you some other time, George.”

The limousine pulled onto the grounds of the airport and drove to where a large jet was waiting. At the foot of the gangway leading up to the plane, several men were standing.  Trace and the others got out and walked across the tarmac to the group.

“Trace and Jerry, may I present my brothers?” Ishtar asked. “This is Ali. He will be our pilot. Aroon will be the co-pilot, and Ishmael will be the steward, making sure that you have everything you want; and these two, Abdul and Akbah, will be the cooks, preparing meals fit for a king.”

Trace and Jerry shook hands and introduced the boys.

“Perhaps you two young men would like to visit with us in the cockpit,” Ali said. “And if my miserable brother Aroon doesn’t fall asleep, perhaps we will let you handle the controls for a few minutes.”

Ricky and George were practically jumping up and down with excitement.

“Oh, Dads, can we?” 

“I think that would be okay,” said Jerry.

Everyone boarded the plane, and, lo and behold, a large hatch opened at the back of the plane, and Ishtar drove the limousine right up into the plane.

In a few minutes the jet was cleared for take-off, and soon it was air-borne.

True to their promise, Ali and Aroon invited Ricky and George to come to the cockpit, where they showed the two boys all of the equipment and how they could change the direction of the plane. They even allowed the boys to place their hands on the steering wheel and have the massive jet move a little higher into the evening air.

At 6:30 that evening Abdul and Akbah served a delicious dinner of New England Clam Chowder, steak, mashed potatoes, peas, rolls and butter, and for dessert, apple pie à la mode.

After dinner Ricky and George went to their cabin, which contained two twin beds, two tables and chairs, and two computers where they could play all the latest computer games.

Trace and Jerry went to their cabin, where they were able to watch a movie before turning in for the night. The two lovers slept in the buff, of course, and before falling asleep demonstrated their love for each other in the most intimate of ways, and without realizing it, renewed their membership in the Mile High Club.

The next morning, breakfast was served just as the plane was approaching the coast of Ireland. Everybody sat down to orange juice, waffles and syrup (“Sorry, gentlemen, we do not serve bacon or sausage on this plane,” said Akbah), and coffee.

As the plane touched down, Ishtar said, “I am to be your chauffeur wherever you wish to go while you are in England. May I ask what your plans for the day are?”

Ricky said, “Dad, before we drive to this Smith Manor, there’s one place in London, I would really like to see, really, really!”

“What’s that place, son?”

“It’s King’s Cross Station. I want to see Track 9 ¾.”

“Why?” asked Trace.

“Oh, that’s where the adventures start in those books, you know.”

“Oh, I don’t know, son…”

“Sirs, your wishes are my command,” Ishtar said, “but I too am a follower of that wonderful series of stories. I would like to see it also, if you would agree.”

“We can make a stop there, if that’s what you’d like to do,” Trace said with a smile.

Ishtar decided to leave the limousine in the jet, and went to rent a car with the steering wheel on the right. When he returned, the four travelers said goodbye to their friends on the jet and drove off to London to King’s Cross Station.

When they got there, the boys could not find Track 9 ¾. When they asked a porter about it, he smiled, and said, “Oh, no, young gentlemen, tracks 9 and 10 are in a separate building. Actually they put signs on Tracks 4 and 5, renumbering them as Tracks 9 and 10.”

“Oh, gee, Dad; there’s nothing to see here, really,” Ricky said, feeling downcast.

“Boys, Trace and I are going to get a cup of coffee from that kiosk and sit here on the bench. I think jet lag is catching up with us,” Jerry said. “Do you boys or Ishtar want anything?”

Ishtar said he would like a cup of coffee too, but Ricky and George felt the need to find a restroom.

“Dads, we’ll be right back. We’re going to the men’s room over there.

Ricky and George went and were standing at adjacent urinals, when the door opened, and a tall man wearing a cloak came in and stood behind them. Ricky and George became aware of his presence and were beginning to feel more than a little uncomfortable when the stranger spoke.

“Hello, mates. You two are certainly two good looking young men. I bet you have a lot of girl friends.”

Ricky and George were too scared to speak.

“You know, I could show you two how to have some fun, if you’d care to join me. I know lots of wonderful things I could show you, ways to use those wands of yours…hmmm?”

The boys wanted to turn and run, but a strange lassitude was creeping over them. They could not move!

Just as the stranger started to speak again, two doors to stalls at the end of the room opened, and two young men came out and moved toward the mysterious stranger and the two petrified boys.

“Alright, Tom Riddle. Let those boys alone!” said one young man, who Ricky noticed had dark hair, and a scar on his forehead.

“Out of here, and I mean NOW!” said the other man, who had reddish hair.

Tom Riddle just turned and laughed at the two, but he stopped laughing when they each reached into their pockets and pulled out a wand.

Pointing them toward the malevolent stranger, they both shouted “Excaliburamus!”

Tom Riddle vanished in a puff of smoke.

“Are you two chaps all right?” the black haired youth asked.

“Oh, yes. Thank you so much,” George said.

“Can you come and meet our dads? I know they will want to thank you,” added Ricky.

“Sorry, mates, but Whistler and I have to run. Have to catch a train!”

“Yeah, come on Potts! We don’t want to miss the Express,” said the red-headed guy.

The two rescuers dashed out of the men’s room, and Rocky and George ran after them, just in time to see them run full tilt at the space between Tracks 4 and 5, and then they seemed to just run into the wall—and vanish!

“Dads, did you see that? They just vanished!” Ricky said.

Trace and Jerry woke with a start. They had dozed off for a minute, but Ishtar said, “I saw it, too, my young friends. I saw it too.”

To be continued...

As always, thanks to A. Nony Mouse for all his help.

Posted: 08/20/10