The room had a remarkably high ceiling. It was paneled in dark mahogany, with huge paintings of military men in uniform mounted on gorgeous steeds, hanging on the great walls which enclosed a stone floor measuring at least thirty-feet by thirty-feet. Heavy, wine-colored, velvet draperies covered the nearly floor-to-ceiling windows-- perhaps twenty feet high. And several overstuffed chairs and low tables were arranged around the room, clustered near the fireplace in which a low fire crackled and snapped as it faded. A warm glow from the dying fire joined the dim light that poured from several elegant lamps around the room. It was most luxurious.
A monstrous bed, king-size in American terms, sat immediately across from the fireplace, and it's wine velvet coverlet matched the draperies. At it's head were four white pillows, and the coverlet was turned back inviting any passer-by to slumber there.
This scene greeted Sean when he opened the door into the bedroom that Max told him would be his while he visited.
Standing right behind Sean was Murph: "Ohhhhh, cool," Murph said, and he pushed around Sean to enter the bedroom first.
Sean gasped and just stood there motionless, even before entering: "This is very wonderful. Do you think Sir wants me to sleep here? It's for a king!"
"Yeah. But dad said it's for YOU, Sean," Murph replied matter of fact.
Sean looked all around the room and then at the immense bed, "There's plenty of room for you to sleep here too..... " looking over at Murph.... "if you want to..." He didn't want to be presumptuous, but Murph's presence somehow prevented these surroundings from being so intimidating.
"Humm? I don't see but one bed," Murph said.
Sean looked back over at the bed and spoke: "One, aye. But it's sooo big. Four people could sleep there," Sean replied.
"But that's YOUR bed, Sean. Maybe dad could put a bed in here for me too?" Murph suggested.
"Would you ask him? I'd be very appreciative to have you nearby, because it troubles me being in such a fine room. I never had nothing like this before." Sean said.
"Hum....?" Murph said. And after a moment of thought he replied, "Yeah. That might be okay. Would you mind if Nicky and Jilder had beds in here too?" Murph asked.
"Oh, that would be very nice, Mr. Murph."
"Please, Sean. I'm not 'MR.' Murph. I'm just Murph... You know, THAT'S MY name. 'MR.' Murphy is my dad. He's Mr. Murphy."
At that moment Jerome walked into the room carrying an armful of pillows, blankets, and bed linens. "Oh, good, we wondered where you two were. Everyone was receiving bedroom assignments and familiarization with the bathrooms and showers, and you two disappeared when Mr. Murphy gave Sean his room."
"Jerome, do you think my dad would mind if I had a bed in Sean's bedroom? It's really big, and Sean would like for me to sleep here; so he wouldn't feel alone. I'd like that too..." Murph finished and looked over at Sean. Pausing a moment in thought, Murph went on, "And maybe you could put Jilder's bed and Nicky's bed in here too. We'd ALL like to be together, I think..."
"My goodness. You've been doing some major planning, Mr. Murph. I think you should speak with your father about it... He's just down the hall in the big study. You boys might want to go now to speak with him together," Jerome said.
"Yeah." Murph said, and he grabbed Seans hand and dragged him behind as he left the grand bedroom.
"Murph! Where did you go?" Nicky asked impatiently when he met Sean and Murph in the hallway.
"Nowhere. I just went to Sean's bedroom with him." Murph replied.
"You should see the bathrooms, Murph. They're HUGE! I wonder if they have blue water in them like on the airplane?" Nicky said.
Jilder, trying to appear more mature and above this prattle, pronounced for the edification of all present: "I think they are very nice bathrooms, and they have regular water, cause Mr. Murphy doesn't have to save the poop in a tank, like the airplane does..."
Jerome looked at Max who looked at Brandon who looked at Hugo and Kevin who said, "Seems the boys had an investigation of the restroom facilities on the airplane and decided that they were unique and worthy of discussion... You will find that very little goes un-noticed by these young men..."
Max replied, "Of course..." stopping and then resuming after a moment's thought: "And I asked the household staff to inspect the sleeping quarters just before we arrived; so that there are NO spiders present. I think we should have an uneventful and very restful night, gentlemen."
"Good!" was Murph's comment, as he shook his head in the affirmative most emphatically and looked around to survey his colleagues, who would no doubt be as relieved as he!
"Now, Dad..." Murph went on. (He was all business...) "We was all talking-- well I was talking to Sean-- and we thought it would be very nice if you would put three extra beds in Sean's bedroom for me and Jilder and Nicky to sleep. It's really, really big in there, and we all like to be together too. Can we do that, Dad?" Murph asked holding his dad in his stare with the expectation of finding agreement.
"Uh? Well," Max stammered. "Uh... that means..." which well-meaning bumbling Brandon stepped in and interrupted: "Why, Murph. That sounds like a wonderful idea. I don't know WHY we didn't think of it ourselves. You boys would certainly rather all be near one another.... And Sean's bedroom truly IS enormous. I think you have a very good plan, Murph. Don't you, Max?"
Turning back to look at his dad, Murph had a confident smile on his face, just having received confirmation of his plan from Brandy.
Poor Max looked totally lost, since his idea of a comfortable evening for the boys was a separate room for each, all rooms of colossal dimensions, of course, and everything entirely too adult and proper for 4 rug-rats-- no matter that TWO were Californian, ONE was Irish homeless, and the third (son Number One) was just discovering his impact in the world but wasn't too sure of the influence spiders wielded.
Brandy gave Max a glance tilting his head, raising his eyebrows, and looking deeply into Max's eyes silently communicating: "FOR GOD'S SAKE, MAX, LIGHTEN UP--- THEY'RE BOYS NOT CEOs!"
Max got the message and scrambled to cover. "Why of course, I'm so glad you boys thought of it. I'll have the household staff move three smaller beds into Sean's bedroom, and the three of you can set up business in there... We can even send in a television set."
Brandy walked over to Max and said quietly where the boys couldn't hear: "Now, Max, we don't need over-kill, just beds for the night. It's like providing for four pups that just arrived from the pound. They all want to sleep piled up in a heap together... It's natural, Max!"
"I'll have Jerome drive you back to Clontarf," Max said to Hugo and Kevin. We'll find some old pajamas here for the boys to use. They can still take showers tonight, and tomorrow we can get their clothes from you," Max suggested.
Brandy went on to add the obvious, "Max, Sean doesn't have anything to wear. Tomorrow, first thing, I'll take him to the shops near Clontarf and buy him an outfit or two. He'll need everything from the skin out..."
"You are SO intuitive, Brandy. Whatever would I do without you?" Max said looking relieved.
"Masturbate..." Brandy said dryly.
Max telephoned the Carlton and arranged matters with the manager. Brandy got the boys settled in the 'dormitory' and relieved Jerome and the household staff a little early. The entire estate settled into the late hour, while Sean curled up in his big bed realizing that his head wasn't throbbing nearly as much as it had right after he got those stitches.
The Americans were still wired, but they realized Sean was sick and needed to go to sleep; so they huddled on the hearth in front of the fireplace talking quietly.
And Sean climbed up into the regal bed and slipped naturally into the peaceful oblivion that he had earned and which the night bestows equally upon all.
It was pitch black. Only a faint glow emanated from the fireplace. All the lamps except one had been turned out.
Sean woke with a fright. He didn't realize where he was. He looked across his bed to the other side of the room where he saw Murph sleeping. Without making a sound, Sean slipped out of his bed carrying a pillow, and walked silently in his bare feet across the icy, stone floor to where Murph slept. Ever so carefully he climbed into the bed next to Murph and snuggled up next to him. Sean's anxiety melted in the warmth radiating from Murph's sleeping body, and in an instant, he had fallen back into the oblivion of the night.
The next morning, as sunlight shown in around the massive window draperies, Murph woke up first. Murph was surprised to find Sean in his bed, but he wasn't upset. He looked over at Sean, and he watched the sleeping boy breathing softly next to him. And as if by some unseen mental communication, Sean's eyes began to flutter and open, and he stretched his arms and legs and rolled over onto Murph. "Hey, Sean, you awake?" Murph said...
"Owwwwwww! Me head hurts!" Sean said. "Yes. I be awake... Did I sleep too long?"
"Naw. You don't have to get up if you don't want to... Keep on sleepin. I'm sorry I woke you...." Murph said.
"You didn't wake me. I just woke me self." Sean said mixed in with an ample yawn and several more stretches..."
"Can I get you something for your head?" Murph asked.
"No. I don't know what would help... Just time, I spect."
"Are you hungry?" Murph asked.
"Hummm? Yes. I feel empty. I didn't eat last night, and I didn't think about eating after I hurt my head at work..."
"You wanna go find dad or somebody to help us get breakfast?" Murph said.
"Yes. That would be good. Do you know how to cook?" Sean asked.
"Uh? Not really. My mom cooks for me at home, and now I'm visiting dad, and he buys me stuff to eat."
"What about you, Sean. Can you cook?" Murph asked.
"I can cook a few things, but not so much. I like oatmeal and I can cook it without burning it. I like eggs. Do you like eggs or oatmeal?" Sean asked Murph.
"Yeah. Eggs are really good. Let's go find some and maybe we can get some orange juice too," Murph said putting his legs over the side of the bed."
"Orange juice?" Sean said. "I usually drink tea."
"Really?" Murph said.
"My mom fixes orange juice at breakfast."
"I don't have no mum, and my neighbor lady don't have no orange juice, but she fixes oatmeal and tea, and sometime there's bread and jam." Sean said.
"You mean, like toast with jelly on it?" Murph said.
"I don't know." Sean answered..."Maybe.."
"Where are you from, Murph? You talk different," Sean asked
"I live in New York in the United States," Murph said.
"In New York! Oh my. That must be wonderful." Sean said wistfully.
"Not really," Murph said. "I don't live in the big city. That's too busy. My mom lives in the suburbs where there's not so many people."
"But your dad lives in Ireland?" Sean asked.
"Yeah." Murph said, his eyes dropping as he spoke. "It's not good. I miss my dad a lot, but I can't do anything.... Except I can come to visit dad in Dublin when they let me...."
Changing the subject, "Let's see what's here to eat," Murph suggested. He pulled on his pants and his shoes and socks, and was all ready to go exploring his dad's house.
"You ain't never been in your dad's house before, Murph?"
"Nope. But he wants me to be here; so I don't think he'll get mad if we look around."
"But I'm just staying the night. You think he'd be mad if I look around with you?"
"Oh, no. Not dad. And Brandy likes me and you both; so I don't think they would care if we go looking for breakfast."
"That sounds good," Sean said. And Sean pulled on his pants, shoes and socks, and shirt, and the two of them went in search of the kitchen.
Moments later the boys encountered a lady wearing a black dress and a white apron as they passed the main study.
"Oh. Look who's afoot this mornin," she said. "I haven't met you before. One of you must be Mr. Murphy's son, Shannon, and the other one must be our house guest, Mr. Sean. Am I right?" she said
"Yeah." Murph said. "I'm Shannon, but everybody calls me Murph. This is Sean. He's got stitches in his head last night, and it still hurts him."
"oh, my," the lady said, "I'm so sorry you had to have stitches. But I'll bet your head will be like new when the stitches come out. And you'll feel MUCH better then, after they're out..."
"I hope so," Sean answered.
"We're hungry, and we would like to fix breakfast," Murph said.
"Well. I think I can help you with that. Mr. Murphy told me that I was to help you get breakfast when you woke up. I guess that means now. How about we all go into the kitchen and see what looks good to you boys. Follow me..." And the friendly lady turned and walked off gesturing for the boys to follow.
As they walked through the halls that turned and twisted, the lady spoke over her shoulder, "Aren't there two more of you gentlemen here visitin us?"
Murph answered, "Yeah. Nicky and Jilder are still sleeping. I think they'll be waking soon too, and they'll want to eat breakfast. Maybe one of us can go tell them where the kitchen is after we find it..."
"Alright, gentlemen. Here we are." and the three arrived in a very large kitchen that contained a table with six chairs over on one side next to a bay window. Another lady was scurrying around between the stove and the counters preparing food already.
"Why don't you two gentlemen have a seat over there," indicating the table, "and I'll ask Melinda to see to the breakfast."
Melinda hollered over to the boys. "WHATLYOUBOYSBEHAVINGTHISMORNIN??" she shouted.
Murph was surprised that the new lady was yelling at him, but if that's the way things worked here, he'd yell too...
"WE'D LIKE EGGS AND OATMEAL AND BREAD AND JAM AND ORANGE JUICE IF YOU HAVE ANY!... OH, YEAH! AND HOT TEA TOO..."
Then Murph looked at Sean and said, "You want to add something, Sean? Just yell at the lady over there. Maybe we'll get something to eat without having to cook it ourselves..." Murph was puzzled over how things worked in his dad's house. This house was as big as a hotel, and it had people working there... That was puzzling for Murph.
"I'll wait and see what happens for you," Sean said.
In just a minute or two, Melinda, the lady who yelled all the time, arrived at the table with two steaming bowls of oatmeal and a basket of bread.
"Oh, thank you, mama," Sean said, and he wasted no time waiting to see what Murph was going to do. Sean picked up a spoon and began shoveling the oatmeal into his mouth. Every mouthful or two, he'd stop and stuff in a large piece of bread and then repeat the process.
"You're hungry." Murph said as a statement of fact.
"Uh Huh," and Sean kept on gulping down the oatmeal...
Just as the oatmeal was running out for Sean, Melinda arrived with a large plate of eggs, poached until they were nearly solid.
"Uhhhh! What are THEY?" Murph exclaimed...
"These be eggs with the yellows hard," Sean replied quite matter of fact.
"I expected to see them all scrambled up in a big yellow pile, like at home," Murph said.
"Oh, these are wonderful... Try em. You'll like em," Sean said not looking up or waiting to get Murph's approval before he dished up two eggs into his empty oatmeal bowl. He took another gob of bread, and started on the eggs.
Murph heard Nicky and Jilder talking out in the halls somewhere. He jumped up from the table and went out into the hall just outside of the kitchen door: "Hey, Jilder, Nicky, we're back here in the kitchen. You can get something to eat. Come on back."
In a moment Jilder and Nicky rounded the corner coming from the other part of the house. "Wow, this is a big house," Jilder said. "We didn't know where you were."
"Yeah. We had to have some lady show us where the kitchen is... Don't worry. There's plenty to eat. Come on," and Murph turned and lead the way into the kitchen.
"Hi, Sean! Gimme Five!" Jilder said holding his hand up in front of Sean.
Poor Sean just sat there with his mouth full of food, looking at Jilder who had his hand up, puzzled about what Jilder was asking him to do.
Nicky said, "Jilder, Sean doesn't know that American thing. Why don't you show him?"
"Really?" Jilder said, seeming truly surprised that EVERYONE didn't know how to give a "High Five..."
Sean looked at Murph not saying a word, seeming somewhat intimidated by Jilder's bold friendly manner. He said directly to Murph, which must have seemed less threatening to him than talking directly to Jilder. "What does Jilder want me to do?" Sean said somewhat embarrassed.
"Oh, don't worry. Jilder just wants to give you a special hand-shake that Americans do... You wanna learn?" Murph asked, shoveling in another mouthful of eggs.
"Yes." Sean said to Murph enthusiastically.
Then Murph turned to Jilder and said with some exasperation, "JILDER! You have to EXPLAIN nicely to Sean what you mean. They don't DO High Five in Ireland..."
"Oh, that's okay, Sean. I didn't know that. Look here." Jilder said.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you," Jilder added.
And Sean put down his fork and bread and gave his full attention to Jilder.
"When somebody says, "Gimme FIVE" you're supposed to raise your hand and let them hit it with theirs, and then if you want, you can also hit fists..." Here let's try it...
It would have been humorous, but Sean was clearly undertaking the acquisition of this new social ritual with the utmost seriousness. He was, as they say, "really up-tight"!
But the boys tried it several times, and by the fourth or fifth try, Sean seemed to have it down perfectly. And then he turned to Murph and said, "Gimme FIVE!" while holding his hand up before Murph...
Murph accommodated Sean, and the two made a loud clap of their open hands, then came back with their fists... PERFECT!
"You do that just like an American, Sean! Cooool!" Murph said.
And Sean smiled genuinely for the first time since the boys met him last night, after his infamous plunge in the terrace dining room.
Nicky held up his hand without the verbal invitation, but Sean knew how to respond, and he did so with yet another smile. It was good to see Sean being a boy who was not weighted down by his lot in life.
Murph yelled at Melinda: "WILL YOU PLEASE BRING MORE BREAKFAST OVER FOR OUR FRIENDS, NICKY AND JILDER?"
And within minutes all of the boys were shoveling in eggs and oatmeal, and the Americans were even drinking tea, and they were all enjoying themselves immensely.
Happy sounds of boys talking and laughing poured out of the kitchen and met Max and Brandon as they came down the long hallway toward the kitchen.
Max paused before he approached the open kitchen doorway and turned and spoke to Brandon: "I never knew that life could offer more than the blessings that you and I have already experienced, but, Brandy, I love being a father... even if it's very tenuous with Shannon and hardly a fact at all, yet, with Sean. I FEEL I AM THEIR DAD, and I love it... I hope you can see how they can change our lives for the better, and will not be resentful of the demands they bring with them..." And Max placed a tender kiss softly on Brandon's lips as they lingered for that moment in the hall.
"Max! Can't you see how much I've enjoyed having the boys around-- actually, all four of them. But most certainly I have a special feeling for OUR two... We've got to do everything possible to allow them to understand how much we wish to welcome them into our life together... Max, I'm with you all the way on THIS one..." And Brandon, reached over to Max and took his hands in his. The hands cannot be lied to. The hands understand what words can conceal. And their hands conveyed how much they truly loved one another.
Together Max and Brandy entered the kitchen.
"Dad, Brandy, Good Morning!" Murph said. "Where have you been?" And he jumped up, ran over, and gave them both a hug...
"Well, it takes us a bit longer to get moving in the day than it does for you guys. We need to practice." Max said.
"Did you all have enough to eat?" Brandon asked the lot of them.
"Oh, yes, Sir. It was most wonderful," Sean spoke up.
"That's good to hear, Sean. You'll need plenty to eat so that your head heals quickly..." Brandy continued. "How is it feeling today?"
"Aye. It was hurtin somethin frightful when I woke up, but now it feels much better," Sean volunteered, indicating he was much more comfortable in his new surroundings and among his many new friends.
"Oh, Sean, that's wonderful to hear. You be sure to keep us informed if there is any change that we need to know about... Like if the stitches tear and you need another visit to the dispensary." Brandon said.
"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir," Sean replied.
"Mr. Murphy, you've got a really nice house, and it's really big too. Do you live here all by yourself?" Jilder asked-- the inquisitive attorney returns to the scene...
"Well, Jilder, yes it is big, but no, I don't live here alone, Brandy and I share it; so I don't get lonely." Max answered to satisfy a reasonable question
"That's good," Jilder commented.
Nicky was curious on his own account, as well, "Did you live here too when you were a little boy?"
Max turned to Nicky and answered: "Actually, now that you ask, yes, I did live here when I was a boy like you. This house has been in my family for generations. After my parents passed away, I lived here all by myself... that is, until I met Brandy and we wanted to share it together."
"It's really like a castle, Dad," Murph added. "Was your dad a king or somethin?"
Max laughed and said, "Oh, no, Murph. The family owned land and raised potatoes and cows, and my father was the lord mayor of a local township."
"Wow!" Nicky responded. "That's sort of like being a king, isn't it... I mean a mayor kinda runs the city, doesn't he?"
"Well, yes, but a mayor is a great deal less influential than a king, Nicky." "But it was an important responsibility that my father did not take lightly..."
"Yeah! I bet he was a good mayor," Murph conjectured.
"Mostly, I suppose," Max said. Someday you and I can discuss the politics of Ireland, when you are a bit older. But for right now, I think you have the big picture." Max said getting the hang of conversing with preteens.
"But I thought you work with computers, Mr. Murphy? Do you raise potatoes and cows too?" Nicky asked.
"Well, we have a few cows for milk, and we use some of the land for vegetables, but my main work is with the Computer Company that Brandy and I own."
"Oh, it must be hard to run all those different things, Mr. Murphy," Jilder commented. "You must be really busy too."
"Well, Jilder, it DOES keep me busy, quite busy, which is why I had to go to Athens just as Shannon--uh, Murph--was arriving with you and your dads on the airplane."
"Well, if you have to go to work while we're here, that's okay, Mr. Murphy, we understand. And we can still visit with Murph and Sean while you're away." Nicky offered with his usual cooperative spirit.
"Well, thank you, Nicky. That makes me feel much better." Thus Max acknowledged Nicky's good will.
"Dad? Do you have to go to work today?" Murph asked.
"Not all day, Murph. I can handle some of my business by telephone and some of it by email. And Brandy does a lot to keep things working too." Max said looking over at and smiling at Brandon.
"Now boys, you recall that Hugo and Kevin have to travel to Galway, which is a very beautiful city on the western coast of Ireland, for the next medical convention. They called me this morning and said that they are going to attend TWO sessions there, two days in a row. Their schedule has been changed to lengthen the time they must be in Galway. Brandy and I have invited Hugo and Kevin and all of you boys to stay with us at the nearby Castle Dromoland for ten days, while Hugo and Kevin attend to their business in Galway," Max said.
"OH, YEAH! That's the king's castle, isn't it?" Jilder asked.
"Yes. How did you know? It's been in the hands of his clan (that means family, the O'Brians) since Brian Baru, was the last king of Ireland... what? in the eleven-hundreds," Max replied.
"Yeah." Jilder said. "And doesn't his ghost live there now?"
Max replied,"Yes. It's been said that Brian Baru walks about his castle at night..."
"Ooohh! Brandy said that we might see his ghost... We all wanna go to Dromoland and find out whether we can see the King's ghost." Murph said.
Then looking directly at Sean, Murph said, "Have you ever seen a ghost?"
"Nnnnoooooooo! I be not interested in finding me a ghost." Sean replied.
"Oh, I don't think he'd hurt you, Sean. He's a good ghost 'cause he's just taking care of his castle by walkin around." Murph tried to reassure him.
"Well....." and Sean paused thoughtfully..."How do you KNOW he's nice?"
"Brandy and dad never said he was bad; so I think he must be good." Murph thought some more and continued, "He lets people visit his castle, and that's good... Anyhow, we might miss him if we don't look for him at night." Murph continued to conjecture.
"It would be fun to go looking for him, don't you think?" Jilder added.
"I'll go if somebody else will go with me," Nicky said.
"Cool." Murph said. "Okay, that's three of us... Are you gonna go with us, Sean?" Murph asked.
"Uuhhh..." Sean was reluctant to jump into something that might turn out to be trouble, but on the other hand he was sure interested in joining the other boys in their explorations; so he said, "I'd like to go with you, but I don't want to talk to the ghost...," as if that proviso afforded him some measure of safety.
"Good. We'll ALL go looking for the king together!" Murph said, sounding more like a tour director than a 10-year old stranger to Ireland.
Max said: "Well, let me see, Dromoland then will work for all of us. We'll set up reservations and plan to let Jerome drive us there first thing tomorrow morning.
"Cool" Murph cheered. "Yeah." all of the other boys shouted with him.