We were up early the next morning to prepare for our trip. Little Pablo was wired. He couldn't sit still long enough to even eat some breakfast. He had never been out of the village, let alone to a large town. Carlos looked a little down and I figured he was feeling left out. I explained about the responsibility of having to take care of two instead of one, but I would be making more trips to Veracruz and he could go next time. That brought a big smile to his little face and he rushed over to give me a big hug.
Little Pablo and I took off about 8:00 AM and made good time arriving in Veracruz a little after 9:00 AM. He was so excited about riding in the "big truck" and asked many questions. I found both contractors relatively easy and discussed the project with them. They both made copies of our rough sketches and said they would have an estimate by the following Monday. I said I would come back up and talk with them again. By then it was about 1:00 PM and I asked little Pablo if he was hungry. He shook his head yes. I had noticed a McDonalds on the way in and took him there. He couldn't get over the fact that you could walk into a building, order food, and eat it there. He inhaled a quarter-pounder, a large fries and a chocolate milkshake. I then took him to a department store and brought some clothes for all three kids. I also bought each one a small flashlight and extra batteries. I picked up three Coleman lanterns and plenty of propane canisters as all they had in the house were candles and one old-fashion oil lantern. His eyes were as big as saucers as he looked everything over.
We then stopped at a local super market to purchase the items Mercedes had requested. Of course I added a lot to the list. The only things I couldn't get were perishables as they had no way to preserve them. I did buy several nice steaks for dinner that night. Again little Pablo's eyes were as big as saucers and he couldn't get over the fact there was so much food in one place. We then left to go back to San Pedro arriving about 5:00 PM. Just before we got into San Pedro I pulled over to the side of the road, put little Pablo on my lap and let him steer the Hummer. He got a real charge out of that especially when we pulled up in front of the house and his brother saw him steering.
José came out and with the boys help we unloaded the Hummer. Once in the house little Pablo started talking about everything we had seen and done. He talked non-stop and no one could shut him up. It became time for bed and he was still so wound up I figured he would never go to sleep. Once he got into bed he conked out pretty quickly. I guess he was tired.
I went to bed about an hour later. I had noticed the sky darkening and getting very cloudy. I figured we were in for a storm. About midnight it started raining and shortly after there were loud claps of thunder followed by lightning. It woke me up and I heard whimpering coming from the other bed. I turned on my flashlight and little Pablo was sitting up in bed with tears in his eyes and just shaking. I lifted my sheet and motioned him over. He came out of his bed like he was shot from a gun. The next thing I knew I had a naked 9 year old wrapped around me and holding on for dear life. About that time José pulled back the curtain over the door. I held my hand up giving him the okay sign. He just smiled, waved and turned back to his room.
Pablo continued to hold on to me while whimpering and shaking. I caressed his back and kept telling him everything was alright. He settled down some but kept a tight hold on me. After about 30 minutes the storm abated and the lightning and thunder ceased. I told him I thought the storm was over and asked if he wanted to go back to his own bed. He shook his head no and said he wanted to stay right there. He then proceeded to turn over and spooned into me using one of my arms as a pillow and pulling the other arm around him. We slept that way the rest of the night.
The next morning we awoke about the same time. Little Pablo turned around and gave me a big hug and a kiss and just held on for a few minutes. I could hear Mercedes stirring around in the main room apparently preparing breakfast. I told little Pablo we should probably get up and he had to eat and get ready for school. He got up, pulled on his pants to hide his morning erection, and headed for the outhouse. I got up, dressed, and figured I had better wake Carlos. I went over and gently woke him. He smiled up at me, stood in the bed displaying his morning erection, gave me a big hug and then copied little Pablo by pulling on his pants and heading for the outhouse. Neither boy appeared to be embarrassed or shy about their morning woodies. I thought to myself that the next weeks were going to be interesting.
That evening the kids had already gone to bed and José, Mercedes and I were getting ready to go also. I went into my bedroom and discovered Carlos in his bed, but little Pablo was asleep in mine. I went back out and called in to José. He came to his bedroom door and I explained about little Pablo being in my bed. I told him I didn't mind, but wanted to make sure it was okay with him of Pablo slept with me. He grinned and said he had no objections, but if Pablo started crowding me to just pick him up and put him in with Carlos. I said okay and went in to bed. As soon as I crawled in, little Pablo, in his sleep, snuggled up as close to me as he could. That turned out to be every night while I was there.
The following Monday I planned to go back up to Veracruz to meet again with the contractors. I know I had promised Carlos to take him with me and was wondering if I could take him out of school to go when I found out that they had just finished up with school for the summer. At breakfast I said I was going to Veracruz to meet the contractors. I asked Carlos if he was ready to go with me. He jumped up and ran to me saying "Si, Si, Si." His dad gave him the same warning about minding me that he had given to little Pablo. He immediately said he would be good.
We left about 8:30 AM. I met with the contractors to get their estimates. They were within $1,000 of each other; however, one had his men tied up on other projects and couldn't start for six weeks while the other could start immediately. I awarded him the contract and he said he would be there the next day to look over the site and see what equipment he needed for the site preparation. I said that would be fine.
I followed the same routine with Carlos that I had with little Pablo. A stop at McDonalds where he wanted one of the happy meals of chicken nuggets, fries and a coke. Of course, the happy meal came with a toy. He immediately said he was giving the toy to his sister since she couldn't come with us. I praised him and told him I thought he was a good brother to give up his toy for his sister. After lunch we stopped at the supermarket to pick up some groceries. He was like little Pablo; he was amazed at all the food in one place. We took off for San Pedro and I did the same with Carlos as I had done with little Pablo. I put him on my lap and let him steer the Hummer. He was elated.
We unloaded the groceries and carried them in the house. I told little Pablo that since they had both been so good to obey me on our two trips that next time I would take them both. José said, "You're spoiling them." I grinned and said I feel like their el abuelo (grandfather) and it's my right to spoil them. He just shook his head while Mercedes grinned. I said something about Maria Theresa going, but she seemed to have no interest.
The contractor arrived the next day and surveyed and determined what equipment he would need. I had opened a checking account in Veracruz so I wrote him a check for 1/2 of his estimate so he could buy supplies. He said he would be back on Thursday to start and it would take him about 3 1/2 to 4 weeks to complete the school.
The main sewer line was complete and each house needed to be connected as we install the plumbing for water. We were going to erect a large water storage tank which would be connected to a water main a short distance away. All of the water supplied to the houses would be gravity fed. I got an estimate for the cost of the water service. It was so low I was amazed. I said to send me the monthly bill and I would pay it.
As the weeks went by we continued working on the plumbing for each house. I knew we would never get to the electrical work this summer so I figured we would be back again next summer, or sooner. The contractor was doing a wonderful job on the school and would finish well within the time estimate. I got with the two Padres and we came up with a list of desks and supplies we would need for the school. This meant another trip to Veracruz. Of course, both boys didn't ask they just stated they were going with me. I don't think I had a choice.
After the first week, I noticed that all the boys of the village and some of the men disappeared in the late afternoon for about 3/4 of an hour. I asked José about it and he just grinned and said, "Tomorrow you come with us. Bring a towel and bar of soap." I said okay. The next evening we all went down to the river. At that point on the river it was shallow, about 3 feet deep, a lot of rocks and very little current and the water was warm. Everybody stripped and went in.
The boys played around in the water while the men bathed. I was glad of this because I had been taking bird baths late at night in the house. The men then called the boys over and started washing them. José started on Carlos and asked me if I would do little Pablo. Of course, I said yes. The men had no hesitation about washing the genitals of their sons, so I went ahead and washed little Pablo all over. I noticed a few of the boys got erections while being washed including Carlos and little Pablo, but nobody thought anything about it. This became a daily routine which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Of course, little Pablo was still sleeping with me and occasionally I would wake up in the morning to find Carlos had crawled in sometime during the night. It was a tight fit for three of us in a 3/4 bed, but we made do.
It was getting close to the time for us to leave. I knew it was going to be hard on the kids when I left. Hell, it was going to be terrible for me! I kept telling myself it was only temporary as I would be back.
Our departure day finally arrived and we all said our goodbyes among lots of tears. I told the boys I would write and hoped they would write me as well. They promised they would. I picked up Maria Theresa and she wrapped her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck with her head buried between my neck and shoulder. She was crying so hard I thought my heart was going to break. Mercedes had to pry her off me so we could leave.