Published: 7 Apr 2022

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Miriam said she’d take a wait and see attitude. But she did like that Billy was causing some positive things to happen in their home. She also said the teen was calm, wasn’t a know-it-all, seemed mature, and appeared very bright and that he wasn’t demanding at all.

But Miriam wanted to get breakfast over with, so she sent her husband back upstairs to get the boys.

“Boys, let’s hurry it up. Just get dressed and come downstairs. You can take your showers afterwards,” called out Levi, as he came up the stairs.

Mark ran out of Billy’s room to his own and quickly put on some shorts and a t-shirt. Billy had done the same and the two boys met one another in the hallway. They joined up with Mr. Golderson and the three headed down to the kitchen for breakfast.

As the four ate their breakfast, the conversation got around to what the boys were going to do today. Mark said that when he talked to Kieran last night, he learned that his friend wasn’t coming over to do their exercises or catch. Mark told his mom and dad and, of course, Billy that Kieran’s dad said he needed to rest his muscles and relax.

Billy told his little ‘brother’ that he’d catch for him for a bit before they went up to take their showers. The teen added that it would be fun to do that.

Mark smiled at the suggestion and said that he’d like to do that. The young boy then asked his dad if he would take them over to the Skate Park for a couple of hours. The boy said he wanted his ‘big brother’ to show him some moves.

Mr. Golderson looked over to his wife to get her take on the request, and all she did was slightly shrug her shoulders. Levi took that as she was OK with him doing that, so he told the boys he’d take them over to the park when they were ready.

Both boys thanked the man. Billy said he wasn’t in any hurry to go there, but added that it would be nice to go and do something different and see what more of the area looked like. Miriam said she’d make lunch around 12:30 and they could go after that. The boys agreed.

After breakfast was over, Mark hurried to go out back to pitch. But when he saw his ‘big brother’ help his mom clear the table he knew he needed to help. So, the boy started putting things in the refrigerator to help move things along.

Miriam thanked the boys for their help, but told them to go out, ‘go pitch’ or do whatever they were going to do after they finished breakfast.

Mark laughed at what his mom said. Billy knew, by the way Miriam said it, she just wanted them to leave her alone. She wasn’t used to having someone help her after the meal was over, as Billy had done a few times now, since his arrival.

Mark and Billy threw the ball back and forth to warm their arms up before getting down to pitching and catching. While they did that, Levi talked with his wife over Billy’s propensity to help when he can. Miriam told her husband that she didn’t need the help.

But Levi argued that Billy was doing it to show Mark that he needed to participate in helping around the house, and not rely on them to do everything for him. Miriam just sighed and went back to finish cleaning up after breakfast.

Mark finally got down to pitching. Billy got down as a catcher did and had Mark throw to his glove. The teen could see that Mark was throwing consistently in the same target he gave him. So, Billy decided to change it up where he wanted his little ‘brother to throw.

When Mark saw the target wasn’t where it usually was, he balked, telling Billy to put it back where it was supposed to be. The teen yelled back at Mark and told him he needed to be able to hit the glove wherever his catcher was telling him to throw.

The teen asked his little ‘brother’ if he ever watched the Little League World Series and the catchers behind the plate. Mark said he watched the game, but at the time he didn’t know he wanted to be a pitcher. Billy told the boy that later they were going to watch some of the games on YouTube, so Mark would understand what he was trying to show him.

Mark agreed and then started looking to throw the ball at the target his ‘big brother’ was giving him. It took Mark some time to get the idea down, but once he saw that as long as he kept his eye on the glove, he could hit the target most of the time. Billy told him that in time he would get better and better as long as he practiced.

The two boys played like that for about an hour, when Billy said he was hot and sweaty and wanted to get cleaned up. Mark started to argue they should continue for a little while longer, but Billy gave his little ‘brother’ a look that said, ‘don’t even’. Mark took the hint.

The two boys put their gloves away, then went inside to tell Mr. and Mrs. Golderson they were headed up to their rooms to cool down and then take their showers. Mrs. Golderson told them she’d have lunch ready by 12:30, so for them not to take too long.

After Mark was in his room for a few minutes, he went over to Billy’s room to ask him if they could watch some of those little league baseball games. Billy told his little ‘brother’ that they should get their showers first, otherwise they’d get involved with watching the games and forget and never get their showers.

Mark moaned some, but then told Billy he was right. The almost ten-year-old then asked Billy if he could take his shower with him.

Billy had taken practically all of his showers with his ‘brothers’ at The Cove, but he never told Mark that. He wasn’t embarrassed to take a shower with Mark, but he didn’t know how the boy’s parents would accept that.

Sure, he was the boys ‘big brother’, and if he was the boy’s ‘real’ brother it was probably something they may have done when the boy was younger. But the teen didn’t think the parents would be too pleased if they did that now.

“Mark … I don’t think your parents would be too happy with me if … well, if I took my shower with you,” answered Billy, to Mark’s request they take a shower together.

“Why? We’re both boys and you’re my ‘big brother’ and I know … I know that Kieran has taken his shower a few times with Reese. So … so, why can’t I take my shower with you?” the youngster wanted to know.

“Mark, it’s because we’re not blood related. And you saw how mad your mom got when she saw you in bed with me the other morning. It is something women just don’t understand that males take open showers with one another. And, I don’t think she would be happy about it if we did that,” replied Billy.

“Did you, you know, ever take showers with … with your other ‘brothers’?” asked Mark.

“Yes, I did. There was a bathroom for boys and one for girls at The Cove. I didn’t take all of my showers with my ‘brothers’, though. I went to school an hour later than they did, so I had the shower all to myself. But on the weekends … it was then we usually took our showers together,” explained Billy.

“I don’t understand how you can take showers with your other ‘brothers’ but … but you can’t take them with me,” wondered Mark.

“Well … Mr. Ken … he was OK with us taking our showers together. But … well, when Matthew first started living there … he used the girl’s bathroom. And Mr. Ken … he told him it was OK for him to do that, because he had never taken a shower with another male before.

“The thing was that over time … he got used to showering with Kyle and eventually he began taking his showers with his other ‘brothers’. But that is totally different than here,” said Billy, as he tried to explain it to his little ‘brother’.

“But why … why is it different?” Mark quickly asked.

“Mark … it is because Mr. Ken … as I told you, he knew about it and he was OK with it. But here … your parents … they don’t know about it and because your mom … she would have to approve that we do that and I do not believe she would be too happy to let us shower together. Let’s not push that issue for now,” cautioned the teen.

Mark was disappointed at what his ‘big brother’ told him, but he knew what he said sounded true. The youngster knew his mom would not understand them taking a shower together, even though they were ‘brothers’, of sorts, and had the same thing hanging between their legs. Mark told Billy he was going first.

After both boys had taken their showers, they went to Mark’s bedroom to use his computer, as Billy’s room didn’t have one. Billy told Mark what to search for when they opened the YouTube site. When Mark did the search, they wound up with over twenty videos they could watch.

Mark immediately started watching the game, but Billy had to turn his focus on the pitcher and catcher. It was then that Mark began to see what his ‘big brother’ was trying to tell him about the catcher giving his pitcher targets all over behind the plate.

The boys were so wrapped up in watching the battery that they totally forgot about lunch. Levi was sent up, again, to get them.

“Dad, dad … Billy … he showed me that I need to be able to throw my pitch wherever the catcher wants me too. We were watching the Little League games so I could understand where the catcher wanted his pitcher to throw the ball,” was how Mark described what they were doing to his dad, as the three walked to the kitchen for lunch.

Miriam had sandwiches ready for her three ‘men’ when they entered the kitchen. Mark sat immediately, but Billy asked where he could wash his hands first. Miriam showed him there was hand washing gel on the kitchen sink counter, so he could wash them there.

The teen instantly looked over to Mark, and gave him a head nod to join him in washing his hands. The youngster knew not to argue with his ‘big brother’, so he got up and washed his hands, as well. The two boys then sat down to their lunch.

It was a simple meal. Just sandwiches with chips and pickles and something to drink to wash it all down. The four talked about what the boys were doing upstairs and Mark took center stage in the telling. Miriam didn’t care about baseball, but since her son wanted to play, she knew she needed to support him, so she listened attentively.

Levi was happy his son was so focused on becoming a pitcher and was doing his exercises and practicing his pitches. And now he and his new foster ‘big brother’ were doing research together on what Mark needed to do to become a good pitcher.

When lunch was over, Miriam told the boys she would take care of the mess and for them to get ready to go to the Skate Park. The boys visited the bathroom, in order to drain their bladders, and then met Levi out front where the van was waiting in the driveway.

At the Skate Park, the boys found there were a lot more skaters than they expected would be there. Billy was impressed with that particular Skate Park. It had many of the same obstacles that the Cove Skate Park had. There were half-pipes, quarter pipes, spine transfers, handrails, funboxes, pyramids, banked ramps, bowls, stair sets, and a few other barriers, hurdles and other challenges.

Levi told the boys that since it was close to two o’clock, he’d be back for them around four, or they should call him if they got tired or hurt. Both boys showed the man they each had their cell phones. The boys agreed to call if they got tried, bored or hurt. Mr. Golderson then drove off leaving the boys to themselves.

Billy jumped right out on the Skate Park course and began skating. Mark wasn’t all that good, so he stayed where many of the younger boys and girls were skating. But he did watch what his ‘big brother’ was doing out on the obstacles and he wished he could do even a few of them.

Billy was enjoying himself. All the time he spent on the Cove Skate Park gave him plenty of practice on how to deal with many of the obstacles. Some of the boys, having never seen the teenager there before, watched him and wondered where he came from. When they saw him wearing Cove Skate Park professional grade gear, some figured he was an up-and-coming young semi-professional skater.

It was when the teenager took a break that a lot of the young skaters came over to talk to him about where he learned to skate and where was the Cove Skate Park. Mark had seen the bunch of boys gather around his ‘big brother’, so he headed over there to find out what it was all about.

“OK, OK … first … I am not a semi-pro skater. Where I used to live … we had our own Skate Park, so I got to skate all day, every day, without a lot of other people out on the course. Of course, that gave me loads of practice time and the confidence in handling the obstacles.

“At first, we had these wooden ramps as such, and we had to share them with upwards of fifty boys. You better believe that I didn’t learn much or get much practice in. But then they built this huge Cove Skate Park for us and our friends to use. Boy was it ever awesome.

“The Cove Skate Park had many of these same obstacles they have here and it was built so that the inexperienced skaters could stay away from the more experienced ones who could do the deep bowls and the snake runs and other hurdles,” answered Billy, to the boys’ questions.

Mark was hearing all of this for the first time. What caught his ear was that his foster brother had his own Cove Skate Park to use every day and that was mind blowing for him. The boy didn’t want to make a scene with all the boys around Billy, so he waited until they got their answers and walked away.

“Billy … why … why didn’t you ever tell me you had your own Cove Skate Park when you lived with Mr. Ken?” asked Mark, as soon as he could with no other boys around.

“Well, Mark … it never came up. We talked about many of the other things at The Cove, but since this is the first time that we’re out using our skateboards, I guess it just now came up,” chuckled Billy.

“Is that where … is that where you got that good-looking skate gear?” asked Mark.

“Yes, Mr. Ken … he gave it to all of us and our friends. When he had the Grand Opening of the Cove Skate Park, this is what he gave all of us. I think he still has some left over. He said he’d give it away to his ‘boys’ new friends until it was all gone,” added Billy.

“Boy … it sure would be nice to get something like that. And, I bet it is unique, for sure. Look who those other boys thought you were. … Ah, Billy … ahh, could you show me how to do some of the stuff you were doing?” finished Mark.

The ‘big’ and little ‘brothers’ skated together and Billy did help Mark with learning some tricks and doing the ones he knew better. The two were having so much fun that Levi had to park the van and walk into the Park to get them.

The boys apologized to the man for not watching the time, but they reasoned they were having so much fun they just forgot to check what time it was. Levi told them he watched them for a few minutes before coming over to get them, and he agreed they were having a lot of fun.

On the way home, Mark had to tell his dad about the Cove Skate Park. That revelation gave the man another surprise with what Billy had at his last foster home. So, instead of them telling him about it now, he told the boys to wait to tell him at home. He said Miriam would want to hear this and he didn’t want them to have to tell it twice.

As soon as Mark arrived home, he quickly got out of the van and ran into the house to tell his mom that his new ‘big brother’ had his own Skate Park where he used to live. Miriam was initially astonished, but then with all the other things her foster son had going for him at his last foster home, it didn’t surprise her.

Tonight, the Golderson’s had barbequed chicken. Levi showed Billy how to fire up the gas grill with Mark watching on. The man then let Billy do the cooking. Billy was enjoying learning something he’d never done before.

As the chicken cooked, Mr. Golderson talked to the teenager about how long it took to cook the chicken and when to turn it. Then, when the chicken was at the right cooked stage, he showed the teen how to slather on the barbeque sauce.

Levi Golderson was enjoying the teaching exercise as much as Billy was. The man had been looking forward to teaching his only son how to do things, such as grilling hamburgers, steaks and chicken, and now he was getting the chance to teach his foster son. He knew in a few years he’d get the chance to do it all over again, when he taught Mark. Yes, the man was liking this new aspect of fatherhood, even if Billy wasn’t his biological son.

At the dinner table, Miriam had fixed a nice salad, made bread stuffing and had green beans along with corn and she opened a can of cranberry sauce to go along with the barbequed chicken. It was going to be a good meal and the boys were looking forward to it.

As they ate, Mark had Billy tell his parents about the Cove Skate Park. The teenager told them about how the Cove Skate Park came about and about the time the sudden storm came up and the boys there then came through for Mr. Ken to help clean up the mess.

And even though Billy hadn’t been there yet, he learned enough from talking to his ‘brothers’ and the other boys, to know what happened then. Billy even took out his cell phone and showed Miriam and Levi the picture rendition of the Cove Skate Park and then what it looked like when finished.

The man and woman were impressed that the teen’s former foster dad would spend that kind of money on his foster children. But after hearing all about what the man owned, was building and where he took the boys on all their trips, they knew the man could not only afford it, but was making his house a home for the boys and treating them as if they were his own.

When their dinner was over, Billy insisted he help clean up afterwards. He told Miriam that she worked hard to put the meal on the table and the least he could do, with Mark’s help, was rinse the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. Miriam relented and as the teen and her son did that simple chore, she put the leftovers in containers and into the refrigerator.

The four retired to their Family Room where they talked about how the boys skateboarding went. Mark told his mom and dad about how the other kids there thought his ‘big brother’ was a semi-pro skater because of the skating gear he wore, and went over to him and talked to him.

Billy then went and got the stuff he wore that day, so the Golderson’s could see what Mark was talking about. Again, the parents were surprised that, this Mr. Ken spent so much money on not only his own adopted sons, but the foster sons, and all their friends, as well.

As the four talked, and money became part of the topics, Billy told them about his trip to Speed Zone and the Slick Trax race track he got to try out. He then told them he and his ‘brothers’, who’d also been to that place, tried to get his previous foster dad to add one to Four Corners.

Billy kiddingly added that Mr. Ken told him he was so busy he didn’t have the time to plan out such an endeavor. The teen told the man and woman that he suggested to Mr. Ken for him to find some investors who would be more than happy to go in with him to build it, and maybe the marina he was proposing on the lake at Four Corners.

Hearing that perked up Levi Golderson’s ears. As a bank branch manager, he knew that sort of investment opportunity would look good on his resume. Inwardly, he knew he not only had to put together a few of his regular wealthy clients to form a Partnership, but to meet with Mr. Ken and propose they go into business together and maybe build those two concerns together.

As the four talked, Mark reminded his parents that his last two Little League games were that week. He told them his games were Monday and Thursday and he hoped his mom would be there on Thursday for his last game of the season. Miriam said she wouldn’t miss it. Hearing that put a big smile on the boy’s face.

Eventually, the long day caught up to the boys, so they headed up to their rooms to relax and maybe watch a few more Little League baseball games. They started out doing that, but Billy told Mark he just wanted to lay down and think about everything that happened to him over the past few days.

Mark was disappointed his ‘big brother’ didn’t want to stay with him, and watch the videos. The boy knew, though, from the short time the teenager lived with him, that he needed to give Billy some alone time. The boy knew he needed it at times himself, and when his foster brother mentioned it, he understood to let him alone.

It was about 8 o’clock when Mark heard Billy’s cell phone ring. He could hear his ‘big brother’ talking to someone, but he knew it would be rude to go over and just stand there and listen. So, Mark decided to go into the ‘Safe Room’, his dad had built between the bedrooms, to try to listen that way.

Mark knew the special panel made some noise when he went in there, so he took his time opening it, being careful not to allow it to make that noise. He told himself he needed to get his dad to oil the hinges, or whatever it was that made that noise.

Once inside the ‘Safe Room’, Mark could hear Billy talking to someone he called Lonnie.

“So, you asked Robert what would happen to you and Brett now that I was gone. And Mr. Ken … he said it was OK for you guys to still go over there. That was great! What about you guys still riding the WaveRunners?” Billy asked his caller.

… … …

“Ohh, great! So, you jumped up and took over my job on the barbeque schedule. Was Matthew OK with that?” asked Billy.

… … …

“So, my little ‘brother’ was happy he had someone to help him put the barbeques on. I can see that. Matthew isn’t one to go out and do something on his own. He will do some things if someone is with him, or talking with him, to get him to try it.

“And, I think it’s also great that Mr. Ken is allowing you guys to still ride the WaveRunners. And you’ll go out with Robert when it was going to be my turn. I’m landlocked here. What about the other guys?” asked Billy.

… … …

“So, Brett … he hasn’t been back since I left. That’s interesting. I wonder why that is?” Mark heard Billy tell the person known as Lonnie.

“And, you guys have called him, but he’s never answered your calls or texts? You do remember how his parents were pissed at Mr. Ken for dropping that ‘dime’ on Kaden and his meeting those men at the County Skate Park. Brett had told us his parents still use marijuana and if that was what sent me away, they probably told him not to go back,” Billy told Lonnie.

… … …

“Oh, I don’t blame Mr. Ken for sending me away. I really don’t! I do wish he would have done more to investigate that phone call that got me sent away, though. But he was on the record about how he didn’t like or want illegal drugs at The Cove, so he was just doing what he felt was best for him and his sons,” Billy explained to Lonnie.

… … …

“Oh, yea, his name is Mark and if you ask him, he’ll tell you he’s almost ten. His birthday is next month. We did go to a local Skate Park today and some kids saw me wearing that Cove Skate Park gear. Some of the boys thought I was a semi-pro skater. It was funny, but kinda neat that they thought that I was that good,” offered a laughing Billy.

It was then Mark did something inside the ‘Safe Room’ that made his presence known to Billy. The teen heard something in his closet and he knew it adjoined Mark’s, but when he looked, he didn’t see his little ‘brother’. All he saw was just a wall that separated the bedroom closets.

Billy and Lonnie talked for about forty minutes before they hung up. Billy enjoyed catching up on what was happening at his former foster home and his ‘brothers’. It brought back some wonderful memories he had at The Cove and he wished he was still there.

Mark knew when the phone call was over and when he tried to get back into his own closet, he forgot about the noise the panel made and it was loud enough that it caught Billy’s attention.

Billy still wondered if his little ‘brother’ was somehow in his closet, so he went back there and yelled for Mark to come out. Mark heard the way Billy called out to him, so he crawled back into the ‘Safe Room’ and then came out through Billy’s closet.

“What? How?” voiced a surprised Billy, when he saw his little ‘brother’ come out through a movable panel in his closet.

“So, you can go between our bedrooms!” It was more a statement than a question the way Billy said it, when Mark came out of the closet into the room.

“Yea, my dad … he put in some ‘Safe Rooms’, as he calls them, and the gun safes when he upgraded the security to our home when he became a bank branch manager,” explained Mark.

“His new position as a bank branch manager … it puts him in danger for being robbed or kidnapped or someone even trying to do a home invasion here. So, … well, dad has taken that potential seriously and put this ‘Safe Room’ in for me to get into if there ever was a problem,” added Mark.

“Does anyone else, like your friends, know about these rooms?” asked Billy.

“No! None of my friends know about them. They all know about the gun safes because they all have them, too. And, we all have Panic Buttons connected to our security alarms that we can press if there ever is an emergency. But we’ve never tested them. They just put those in. So, I’m not even sure if they even work right now.

“And you saw yesterday that all the older kids are learning how to use the household guns to protect themselves, and their family, if it ever comes to that. That was why my dad took you yesterday. He figures if you’re going to live here, he wants you to eventually be able to do that same thing,” added Mark.

Billy thanked his little ‘brother’ for telling him all that. He then asked Mark to show him the ‘Safe Room’ and how to get into it, so if he ever has to use it, he knows how. When the boys opened the panel, it made a noise that Billy knew was not good. The teen told Mark they needed to tell his dad so he could fix it, so the bad guys wouldn’t know where they were.

Miriam eventually came upstairs to say goodnight to her son. She found him talking to Billy, so she told him he needed to leave his foster brother alone for the night, and get back to his own room and into bed.

Mark said good night to his ‘big brother’ and hugged him and then headed to his own bedroom.

The Golderson’s home was peaceful and quiet that night.

The saga of Three Finger Cove continues. Let Chowhound know you are reading his story: Chowhound at CastleRoland dot Net

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