TIME-TO-SEE-58
Shannon had become completely familiar with the operation of Nick's laptop; so that this time he didn't even need Nicky to take him to Google gmail. When he entered his Username and Password, he discovered an email message from his dad! Shannon was so excited that even at five AM he shouted, "Nicky, My Dad sent me a letter!" so loud that everyone in First Class was aware of what he had just discovered...
"Sshhhhhhhh!" Nicky shouted back almost as loud, jostling the sensibilities of the First Class passengers yet once again....
"Hey! You Guys!" Kevin interrupted the uninhibited mega-decibel conversation...
"Other passengers are trying to sleep... Keep it down!"
Of course neither boy really knew that he had disturbed anyone. When you're that age, the thought just doesn't run through your brain.... It takes a great deal more social conditioning for such peripheral matters to register... But they respected Kevin's judgment, even if they didn't understand.
So in hushed shouts Shannon went on, "Yeah! Look, I'll open it and see what he says...."
"OK. Tell me when you know." Nicky answered.
A minute or two of silence passed where only the whirring whine of the aircraft's engines attended all of the passengers in their slumbers.
Then Shannon said in his best stage whisper: "Listen, Nicky... I'll read you what my dad said.
'Dear Shannon...
I was very surprised and happy to get your email letter.
I am missing you a lot too, and I am so sorry that my work is causing me to miss meeting you when you arrive early tomorrow morning.
But I am really happy that you have friends that you want to visit with while you wait for me.
Please ask Nicky's and Jilder's dads to write to me at the same email address that you used. I look forward to meeting all of your friends.
My telephone number is 99-9999-9999. You can call me when you get to a telephone in Ireland.
I have a surprise for you.
Please write to me again. Love, Dad"
"Nicky, my dad wants me to write to him again. Do you mind if I use your computer?" Shannon said.
"Sure. You can use it whenever you want."
"OK.... I'll write him now," Shannon said.
And he began after he pressed the REPLY button at the top of the page.
'Dear Dad,
We're having lots of fun on our trip. Today the pilot took us up in the cockpit where he works and he let us fly the plane. I made it go real fast and all of the passengers could feel it when I made the plane jump and climb higher...Kevin felt it too. Kevin is one of Nicky's dads. The pilot said I did good and he gave us some wings to pin on our shirts. Maybe some time you can fly with me and the pilot will let me drive the plane and you can see.
Right now it's dark and the passengers are trying to sleep. Me and Nicky made some noise that we have to watch Kevin says. But it's soooo fun. We also went dancing on the plane, but kids weren't supposed to do that; so Kevin and Hugo found us and brought us back to our seats. It was still fun. Nobody complained but Kevin watches us close so we don't get hurt.
We're going to watch another tv movie on the plane. This one is called Pirates of the Caribbean. I like going on my trip with Nicky and Jilder. It's more fun.
I'll see you when you come to get me. I Love You, Shannon'
Shannon pressed the SEND button, and his letter disappeared from the screen on its way to his dad's mailbox.
"Dear Mr. Murphy,
Allow me to introduce myself and my family: I am Kevin Kramer, Professor of Mathematics at San Diego University, and my companion is Hugo Ramirez, Art Director for Conferences and Moving Picture Productions. Our sons are Nick, who is almost 12 years old and a student in the 7th grade; and Jilder, who is just a little younger than Nick but who is also a 7th year student.
I am happy for the opportunity to speak with you via email, even if I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you in person. Your son, Shannon, has been a delight and a wonderful addition to our travel party.
Two days ago, on the day we were to board our flight to Dublin, where we will be attending a Medical Conference on Stem-cell Research, we met your son as he boarded the limousine that was to transport us all from our hotel to Kennedy Airport. It seems that he was to have been in the trust of airline personnel or some similar arrangement, but, in fact, no one arrived to accompany the boy.
Since my partner, Mr. Ramirez, and I were supervising our sons on our trip, and Shannon was to travel on the very same aircraft as we, I volunteered to provide supervision for your son, right along with our own. It has been virtually no inconvenience to us in our travel, and, as I said, Shannon joined Nicky and Jilder, and they became fast friends very quickly.
I can't imagine how uninteresting our traveling would have been had we not had the good fortune to have your son along. He is a wonderful boy, and even though he is younger than Nick and Jilder, he is quite able to measure up to all of the energy demands of their shenanigans!... Really, Mr. Murphy, we enjoy all of the children, and your son is a welcome addition for as long as it may be necessary for you to be delayed.
Please feel free to inform us of any particular duties attendant to Shannon's care that we are unaware of. We've been given no special instructions at all. Common sense and our own good spirits have guided our care.
We look forward to delivering your very fine son as soon as possible.
Very truly yours,
Kevin Kramer
"Dear Mr. Kramer,
I too am delighted to meet you, and I look forward to meeting you properly in person.
Shannon was indeed fortunate to fall into the care of such wonderful people as you and your family. You have my most profound appreciation for your rescuing Shannon, as well as for the continuing care and protection you are providing for him, and I will find a way to respond properly to this great debt I have incurred with you... A man's child is his most precious treasure. Thank you for your most generous efforts caring for that treasure.
If you will notify me when you have your hotel accommodations, then I can arrange for surface transportation for you between the airport, hotel, and the conference venue. My driver and town car will be at your disposal for the duration of your visit. Please accept this gesture of appreciation. It is the least I can do.
Sincerely, Maxmilian Murphy
"Hugo, last night while the boys were watching a movie, I wrote an email to Shannon's father, and he has written one in return."
"I didn't see you typing. I must have been dead to the world. The last thing I remember is dragging the boys out of that Disco downstairs. This trip has been taking more than its share of energy from me. Thank God YOU are awake and alert and taking care of the kids. By now, those boys would be playing soccer in the salon, if it weren't for you..." and Hugo stretched both arms and both legs, letting out a satisfied groan and yawning wide enough for one to check-out his cell transplant from the inside...
"That's okay, Babe. I'm keeping you covered. You just take care of you. Remember, YOU are the reason we're on this trip, and your good health and well-being are number one, even before the antics of these pre-adolescent rug-rats..."
"Thank you, Kev," Hugo said as he sat up leaned over and gave Kevin a snuggle around the neck and lingering kiss where his shoulder turned into his neck."
"Oh, my! If I were to relax, Mr. Ramirez, I'm sure I could get into a little very private communication with you that would bring on a very sticky conclusion." Kevin smiled and looked Hugo right in the eye, and he held the lingering gaze for some moments.
"Dad! You're awake." Jilder announced standing over both of his dads.
"Yes, son. I think we've all got some business to do today," Hugo said looking up at Jilder. Then he turned back to Kevin and said,
"What time do we land? It couldn't be much longer. I feel like I've been in this seat for a month..." Hugo said.
"Yeah! I know what you mean. The lack of movement gets to you after a while.
I think they'll be serving us breakfast, and then a little while after that, we'll touch down at Dublin International. I'd say we have about three more hours in the air," Kevin answered.
"Good. That sounds about right to me..." Hugo said.
Jilder interrupted, "Dad-- either one of you-- can we go to a big castle when we get to Ireland? Shannon said that there's big old castles there that knights used to live in. And they wore those metal armor suits and rode horses and stuff," just like on television...
"Sure, Jilder. That sounds interesting. First, however, we've got to get to the hotel from the airport, and then we've got to confirm with Dr. Kavanaugh when and where Hugo's first meeting will be. And after we take care of Hugo's business first, we can see as many sights as you'd like." Kevin answered.
By now both Nicky and Shannon had gathered around Kevin and Hugo and Jilder-- the entire extended family-- in their big swivel chairs. "When do we get there?" Nicky asked.
"In about three hours, I think, Nick. You and Shannon doin okay?" Kevin asked reaching out and pulling Nick's shirt down from where it had hiked up above his cute little bellybutton. "You could use a change of clothes, Nick... Did you eat your supper off of your lap last night?" Kevin observed.
"NNnooooo! I spilled a little bit maybe, that's all... but, it's OK, dad. Is Shannon going to come with us to the motel?" Nick asked.
"The HOTEL, Nick," Kevin replied. "Yes, I just checked my email with your laptop, and I found a very nice letter from Mr. Murphy, Shannon's dad. He's sending a car to take us to the hotel."
"You're kiddin," Hugo said with surprise.
"No. Not at all. Like I started to tell you, after I wrote to Mr. Murphy, he replied thanking me for helping Shannon and offered his towncar and driver for the duration of our trip to Ireland. Now if THAT isn't the best thing that's happened to us since Craig and Jake said they'ed take care of the dogs, I don't know what is..." Kevin said.
"Yeah! That's terrific. We can take all the time we need getting our bags out of customs and not worry about having to arrange transportation to the hotel," Hugo said.
"Yeah! But WHAT hotel?" Kevin asked.
"If you'll let me borrow your cell phone after we land, I'll telephone him and get the details. It ought to be between 9 and 10 am their time, I think." Hugo said.
"Personally, I have NO IDEA what time it really is. Jet lag has attacked me with a vengeance, and I don't have any sense of what day or what time it is..." Kevin confessed.
The boys raised the shutters on the windows right next to their seats, and morning light flooded over the boys and Kevin and Hugo.
A stewardess walked past just as the light intruded into the cabin. "Well, it won't be long now... That light tells me that Ireland ought to be visible below us in a little while," she said.
Shannon spoke loudly to the stewardess: "My dad lives there. He's going to get me, and I'm going to live with him for the whole summer."
"Oh, my. What a lucky fellow you are," the stewardess replied. "If I were your dad, I'd be very happy to see you... It would be very nice to have a visit by someone as handsome as you-- and such a good dancer too, I heard!"
Shannon blushed bright red and answered with a rather hushed reply, "Yeah! Well, we weren't supposed to be there, but it was reeeaaaal fun."
"I'll bet it was," the stewardess replied.
"Now, are any of you gentlemen thinking about breakfast just yet? It's almost that time...," the stewardess said, addressing the whole family.
"All I can think about is I gotta go to the bathroom," Nicky said.
"YOU'VE ALWAYS gotta pee, Nicky.... Does your penis leak?" Jilder laughed at his own lame joke...
"Yeah! Like you DON'T have to pee right now? Huh? Be honest, Jilder..." Nicky took up his own defense...
"Yeah! I bet he does," chided Shannon, not one to let a good opportunity slip by, to generate a little annoyance for bigger guys.
"Yeah. I gotta go too. Let's all go to a different bathroom. You see they're all over the place...," Jilder said.
"Which one do you want to go to?" Nicky asked Jilder
"Well, let's let Shannon go to the one over there by the Pilot's cockpit-- so he won't get lost,"
Interrupting Jilder, Shannon shouted: "I WON'T GET LOST. I'M NOT DUMB!"
"Oh, OK. Then YOU tell us: which bathroom do you want to go to?" Jilder backed off quickly.
"I wanna go to the one in the very back of the plane, where all of the stewardesses stay," Shannon said.
"It's OK with me," Nicky said. I'll go to the one by the stairs that go down to the salon."
"Okay. Then I'LL go to the easy one here in First Class, by the pilot's cockpit..." Jilder announced.
Kevin spoke up: "Okay, you guys. Do we need to go with you, or are you going to get into trouble just taking a pee?"
Hugo looked at Kevin and didn't wait for discussion: "Nope. I'm going to the back with Shannon, just to make sure everything's alright. Kev, would you go with Nicky? And Jilder, don't you dare go anywhere but over there by the pilot's cockpit. Stay right here in First Class. Understood?"
"Yeah, Dad," Jilder said in a sing-songie voice communicating his impatience with Hugo's precautionary moves.
"Good. We all know what we have to do. Shannon, let's go: To the back." And Hugo rose following Shannon as he skipped along the aisle making his way to the tail. "Shannon, don't make a big fuss of it..."
"OK, Hugo. I won't..." and Shannon continued to skip along on his way to the bathroom in the tail, slapping the back of every seat that he passed.... (Hugo muttered under his breath, "Might as well be talking to a Saint Bernard, for as much response as I get from these rug-rats... Arrrrrg!")
Everybody refreshed, they made their way back to their seats.
Shannon was the last to return to his seat, "Boy, that bathroom made a lot of noise when I flushed the toilet.... It went WHISH! (which he demonstrated flailing his arms around with ample volume and spray from his mouth), and it shot blue water all around too."
"Shannon, DO YOU HAVE TO SPIT ALL OVER when you talk?" Jilder complained.
"What do you mean, Jilder? The toilet DID GO WHISH! (and Shannon did his imitation of the toilet a second time)" while he answered Jilder's challenge.
"Yeah! Mine did too, but I'm not spitting all over you about it...." Jilder said.
Shannon was a bit indignant to be chastised for nothing he could identify...
"Don't worry, Shannon. Jilder talks crazy before he eats breakfast. It's not you," Nicky commented.
"Can't you guys find something more interesting to get worked up about than how LOUD THE FRIGGIN toilets flush, Don't you think?" Hugo enjoined impatiently....
"All of you need to forget the toilets and think about how much fun it's going to be in a new country, to visit in real castles, and to meet Shannon's dad. I really don't think it matters how loud the toilets are as long as they work...And, Shannon, you're right... They do flush kinda loud..." Kevin said.
Looking vindicated and in all seriousness Shannon said, "Do you think that the stuff from the toilets gets dumped into the sky so it falls down on people's heads on the ground?"
Both Nicky and Jilder rolled their eyes and flopped around in their seats when they heard that.
"SHANNON! Of course not... The airplane keeps the pee and poop in a big tank somewhere until it lands. Then the men clean out the tank." Jilder says.
"Ugh! I wouldn't want to have THAT job, Shannon says."
"Me neither," Nicky agreed, "but they can't dump it on people from the sky either..."
"No. I guess not," Shannon agreed.
The stewardess was standing by patiently, if somewhat dumbfounded, while all this conversation about loud toilets and just where DOES the pee and poo go anyhow??? became the urgent business of the hour...
Finally she asked again: "You sure you guys wouldn't like to look at the breakfast menu. It might feel good to get something in your stomach?" she said....
"Sure," Nicky said, as though nothing unusual had transpired when they all momentarily became captivated with the operation of the aircraft's sanitation facilities...
"Yes, Miss, we'd like to see the breakfast menus now. Please don't be too alarmed at the particular topics of conversation that you hear these boys discussing... They're always stewing over some weird detail. It's just part of the great wonder of parenting boys, I guess..." Kevin explained as best he could, sounding more like an attempt to justify the nonsensical than anything else... Oh, well...
When breakfast trays were collected, the boys had been seeing land below them for quite a while already. Stewards and stewardesses were tidying up the cabin in preparation for the landing that was expected in just under an hour. The boys were pressing their noses up against the windows pointing out rivers and little towns and roads to each other.
Kevin and Hugo spoke quietly looking through several items of paperwork that Hugo carried in his leather satchel.
"Hugo, here, in this early letter from Dr. Kavanaugh, he is saying that they would be securing accommodations for the four of us at some place in the suburbs of Dublin. He says that 'The Clontarf is a luxurious Irish castle haven tucked away in suburban Dublin, two miles from the heart of the city and just five miles from Dublin Airport...'"
"Humm...Dr. Kavanaugh goes on, 'Clontarf Castle is situated in a quiet peaceful setting, steeped in Irish history, and itself dates back to 1172... You, Kevin, and the boys will get to enjoy all of the charm and splendor of a unique and royal experience. I think you'll find that this castle is fantastic!'"
"Great! Now we can write Shannon's dad an email and tell him that we need to go from the Dublin airport to Castle Clontarf. And then he can pass the information along to his driver somehow, maybe by cell phone?" Hugo answered.
Kevin went on: "I think we ought to telephone Castle Clontarf first and ask whether our reservations can be expanded to include sleeping accommodations for THREE boys. We'll need something for Shannon too."
"Yeah! You're right. Better take care of that up-front before we get there and find that they're completely booked up or something," Hugo agreed.
"After we confirm that Shannon will be included in our reservations, we can email his dad about where we'll be staying; so he can come to pick up Shannon there if he wants," Kevin suggested.
"Sounds good to me. On top of making sure we are taking good care of Shannon, I'm getting nervous about what Dr. Kavanaugh has in mind for me. Even though the seminar isn't for two more days, I'm nervous as hell already," Hugo confessed.
"Oh, I understand, Babe, but really I'd think you are going to be among friends, and people sensitive to your experiences; so you'll probably feel comfortable after you get there and get started..." Kevin said, hoping to help Hugo relax a bit and undertake the business end of their trip in a comfortable and productive frame of mind.
"Kev, I know you're right. Just like when I was so nervous going to the hospital for my operation; things went smoothly though, and it turned out that Dr. Kavanaugh had anticipated everything," Hugo recalled.
"Sure. And I'd bet money he has this trip wired to the hour too, with your good health in mind every step of the way," Kevin said.