Published: 21 Jul 2022
From Previous Chapter:
Mark sat there for a few moments, and then said, “Mr. Ken … thank you … thank you for taking me to live here with you!” Mark then jumped onto the man and cried. Mr. Ken just let the boy cry himself out. When the boy was finished, he apologized for crying.
Mr. Ken told him that he wasn’t the first boy who cried and that his crying lets the bad feelings out and lets him move on. Mark thanked him for talking to him and he liked that it was so private and personal.
Mr. Ken ruffled the boy’s hair, again, and told him to go drain his dragon. The man scratched Chief behind her ears and when the boy returned, he closed the door as he left the room.
The Cove was quiet the entire night.
Saturday morning was bright and sunny. The heat and humidity had also returned and it too, greeted Ken Thomas as he went outside to retrieve his morning newspaper. The man knew the day would be hot, and the lifeguards would probably earn their pay today.
As soon as the man went inside the Kitchen Nook, he took out 24 breakfast tacos and placed them into the convection oven. He knew Momma wouldn’t be there today, and this way the boys would have something in their stomachs to hold them over until they ate lunch up at the Pavilion.
The boys filtered down to the Kitchen Nook and as they did, they smelled that distinct aroma of Momma’s breakfast tacos. Mark didn’t know what they were smelling, so they told him to wait and see. So, as Mark waited, he took care of Chief’s needs, by washing out her bowls and filling them with fresh kibble and water and then he added some ice to the water.
When Mark sat down at the table, Matthew placed three breakfast tacos in front of him and a glass of milk. Mark then smelled what his ‘brothers’ were smelling. Matthew told him that Momma Maria made the breakfast tacos for them to have when she wasn’t there on the weekends.
Mark asked Matthew why they didn’t go out for breakfast. Mr. Ken heard the question and he told the boy that they did go out occasionally, but today they had friends coming over and they didn’t have enough time to go out and be back in time to meet them.
Mark remembered what his ‘big brother’ told him about them going out to breakfast and it wasn’t all that often. The boy then bit into Momma’s taco and immediately knew why the boys loved them.
As the boys ate, Mr. Ken asked Mark to take Chief’s new water bowl up to the Pavilion when he went up there later. He also asked him to fill it up and to put a few pieces of ice in it like he’d been doing. Chief even barked out a few “Woofs” in agreement. The resident pet even went over to the boy and gave him a few doggie kisses. Mark giggled.
The boys then headed up to take their showers, Robert stayed back. He wanted to talk to his dad.
“Dad … why is it that Mark … that he knew to get Chief a water bowl for up at the Pavilion?” asked the perplexed teenager.
“Well, son … when new people arrive, they tend to see things differently than we who have been here the longest. Just like asking why we didn’t have a soda vending machine to keep the sodas cold, he noticed that Chief didn’t have her own water bowl up at the Pavilion, so he asked. I am sure you’ve done the same with a few things around here. Don’t let it bother you. OK?
“His simple observation is going to make handling the sodas much easier for you and your friends from now on. Now, instead of every day when they arrive and having to ice down the sodas, they have to fill up the machine before they go home.
“And, since the machine holds over 500 cans, they can fill it every other day as they don’t go through that many sodas each day. But make sure they fill it up tonight because after today’s picnic it will probably be quite empty. Now, go catch up with your ‘brothers’,” encouraged the teen’s dad who gave the boy a hug, and a pat on his butt as the teen left the Kitchen Nook.
The Cover boys were showered, dressed for the day and ready for not only their friends, but their guests as well. When the boys arrived at the Pavilion, Mark did what Mr. Ken asked. He filled up the new water bowl for Chief and he put half water and half ice in it so it would stay cold longer. He told himself to check the bowl often to make sure Chief had cold water all day as it was already getting hot and it wasn’t even eleven o’clock.
Robert suggested to Mark that he be at the Main Gate, around eleven, when his family’s friends began arriving, to greet them. The teen told the newest Cover that it would also speed up their entrance into the estate.
Mr. Wayne arrived before their guests arrived and then he and Mr. Ken drove up to the Main Gate to welcome their guests to The Cove. That was when Robert drove Mark over there to also welcome his Family’s friends to his temporary home. Mr. Ken was happy to see that his son had done that.
The Oxtters were the first ones to arrive and Kieran couldn’t wait to get out of the car to greet his friend Mark. The boy even brought his catcher’s mask and glove and asked if they would be able to catch later. Mark told him they hadn’t set home plate up yet, but it wouldn’t be hard to do that.
As the Goldersons’ friends arrived, so did the Covers’ friends. Robert saw what was happening, so he drove all of his ‘brother’s over to the Main Gate. It was a bit hectic at the Main Gate, but a party type atmosphere was beginning to develop.
Mark introduced his foster dad to the families as they arrived and Mr. Ken had Robert, Charles and Bill drive the adults over to the Pavilion, while the kids walked over.
As the guests and the Covers’ friends arrived, the lifeguards arrived, too. The adults saw the teens dressed in their lifeguard shirts, shorts and gear and they asked Mr. Ken if he hired them just for the day. Mr. Ken smiled and told them he had lifeguards work every day that his boys had their friends over and there was a chance they were going to swim.
Mark’s friends couldn’t believe the expanse of The Cove and they were amazed at everything they saw. They’d seen pictures of the Cove Skate Park on Billy’s cell phone, but now that they were there, they couldn’t believe the actual size of it.
Then there was the Pavilion, with its larger than large TV up in the rafters, the large Men’s and Women’s restrooms, the 6-foot grill, the lockers and the soda vending machine along with an ice dispenser and cups.
What the boys couldn’t believe was that Mr. Ken had a soccer pitch lined out in the big field. Mark told his friends that they just did that yesterday and that his foster dad bought the two nets so they could have a good game later.
Logan saw Sydney was one of three girls and was about his age. He also saw she had brought a skateboard with her, so he went over to her, introduced himself, and asked her if she wanted to try out the Cove Skate Park.
Sydney was immediately smitten with Logan. Here was this handsome, fourteen-year-old, almost 6-foot tall, soon to be freshman, paying attention to her and she totally forgot about Billy. She went with Logan out onto the Cove Skate Park and the two spent the rest of the day together.
Mark’s friends wanted to see the rest of the estate, so they all ran to the other side of the house. There they saw the cove with the water toys, the Commander, the WaveRunners, the sailboats and the beach. The five lifeguards were also there waiting for them to come and swim.
Billy used one of the golf carts to take Alexa to the bottom of the driveway and they walked over to the beach and the dock and looked at everything from there. They also walked out onto the finger where Billy said they watched the fireworks from. Alexa then pointed out where they were when they watched the fireworks. The two held hands and enjoyed one another’s company.
Before long, Bill’s cell phone rang and it was Mr. Ken, asking him to come back to the Pavilion so they could eat lunch, and for him to send the rest of the boys back that way, too. The boys were disappointed as they wanted to see the indoor pool, but Billy told them they could see it when they changed to go swimming later.
Up at the Pavilion, Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne were busy answering all their guest’s questions about The Cove and the amenities the boys had. The men told the adults they’d show them around after they had lunch.
Lunch was what was promised, hamburgers and hot dogs cooked by the boys. There were also baked beans and potato salad with a large sheet cake with ‘Welcome to The Cove’ written on the top.
All of the adult guests were surprised the boys did the cooking and had the tomatoes and onions cut and the lettuce patted dry for their hamburgers. Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne explained the boys had been doing that for the longest time and over time the younger ones learned from the older boys and they traded off doing the cooking and prep duties.
The boys heard the questions and they talked to the guests as they ate and explained how ever since Robert arrived over eighteen months ago the cooking evolved from a simple grill to the big 6-foot grill under the Pavilion.
The adults were also surprised that there were ketchup and mustard dispensers as well as an ice dispenser and cups, but their biggest surprise was there was a larger than large soda vending machine where they could get their choice of drink.
Mark explained that they used to ice down a number of coolers of sodas every day until he asked why they didn’t have a soda vending machine. The boy told them that the vending machine was just installed yesterday and today was the first day they got to use it.
When everyone was finished eating, the guests were surprised the boys cleaned up the areas before they did anything else. Then, as the Covers and their friends began showing Mark’s friends the Cove Skate Park, Mr. Ken told Robert and Bill to take all of the new kids down to the garage and outfit them with Cove Skate Park helmets and pads.
The moms and dads said he didn’t have to do that, but Mr. Ken said that there was more than enough left over from his initial purchase and passing it out it would then free up the space in the garage. All of the boys and girls headed down to the four-car garage.
While the kids headed down to the garage, Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne began driving the adults down to the end of the driveway, so they could show them the beach, the cove and everything that was down there for the boys to play with.
Some of Mark’s friends had seen Billy’s Cove Skate Park gear, so they knew what they were getting. The rest of the kids were totally surprised when they saw they were getting a professional grade helmet with ‘Cove Skate Park’ embossed on it, and elbow, knee and wrist pads. They couldn’t believe their luck. After they’d received their bounty, they all took their gear back up to the Pavilion.
Mark was very happy his friends were there. He couldn’t wait to show them the Cove Skate Park and how much better it was than the Skate Park they got to use near them. On the other hand, Mark’s friends were ecstatic over the smoothness of the Park and how great the bowls were and that there were many different areas for them to try.
With the exception of Ella, who was only five-years-old, all of Mark’s friends had other boys their age, or at least close to their age, they could hang around to do things with, there at The Cove.
The first thing all of the boys and girls did was skate using their new Cove Skate Park gear. Of course, Billy didn’t skate with Alexa, but he was out there with her as she tried her moves. Sydney stayed around Logan and the two were inseparable.
Robert and his friends snickered and made comments under their breath to their friend about how he would soon be married if he wasn’t careful. All Logan did was present them with his little finger as he didn’t want to be caught sending the real thing.
The adults were amazed at the water toys the boys had to play on. And when they learned that some of the boys took sailing lessons and could actually sail the four small sailboats they were surprised.
But what really got their attention was that there were five personal watercrafts, i.e. the WaveRunners and a three-seat Jet Ski, that the thirteen-year-olds, and older, after passing the Texas Water Safety Course, could all drive and that they took turns every other day.
After skating for some time, using their new skating gear, the boys decided to get a quick game of soccer going. It was decided that Mark and his friends would play the Covers’ friends. There would be ten boys on a side and Briggs and Gabe would act as the referees. They decided to play for thirty minutes since nine of them hadn’t played much and weren’t in shape. They also wanted to swim and try out the water toys, later.
The adults walked around the dock and looked over the Commander. Mr. Wayne told them how the boat was used last year during a rescue to save a teen who was caught under a sail when the sailboat he was on tipped over when an unexpected gust of wind hit it, and when a man who fell overboard was tangled in his lines.
Shawn Boemieller said he remembered seeing that in the late news. He said that one of the boys, who was instrumental in saving the boy, was a Boy Scout and received the Boy Scout Lifesaving Award. Mr. Ken said that he was and he was up with the boys skating. That caught all the adult’s attention. They all wanted to know who it was and when they learned it was Logan, Randy Oxtter inwardly smiled knowing his daughter was smitten with the boy.
The soccer game between the guests and the regular boys was a lively one. The boys scrambled back and forth and they scored lots of goals because none of the boys really knew how to play goalie. But the real winners were all of the boys. They were all having fun and were getting sweaty at the same time.
After the thirty minutes were up, Lonnie yelled out to them and the boys all leaned over to catch their breaths. After that they all shook hands then they asked where they could change into their swimsuits.
Lonnie, Gabe and Jamie told everyone to get their swimsuits and head to the locker rooms to change. Then, remembering there were girls, the teen told the boys they all had to use the Men’s Locker Room and anyone embarrassed to change there could change up in the Men’s restroom at the Pavilion and catch up with them at the beach.
Mark’s younger friends didn’t know what Lonnie meant. Even Mark didn’t know, so he asked Matthew for them. The Cover told the boys that the Men’s Locker room was like any Men’s Locker Room and it was wide open with benches, that you changed there and put your clothes in a locker out on the pool deck. Matthew told them there were no cubies in which to go to change.
Matthew then told the younger boys that if they faced the wall, placed their swimsuit on the bench, left their shirt on and then dropped their shorts and underwear they could put on their swimsuit without letting anyone see them. Then Matthew laughed and told the boys, that if they hurried and tripped it would cause everyone to look over at them.
All of the boys and the girls headed to the indoor pool and the locker rooms. Billy drove one of the golf carts as did Robert and Charles. They took as many of the boys as they could with them and they went back and forth to get more until all of the kids were down at the bottom of the driveway.
The adults saw the children coming down to the beach area and then going into the house and they asked why. Mr. Ken told them they were probably going to go swimming and were going to change using the indoor Locker Rooms.
The dads said they wanted to go swimming with their kids, but their swimsuits were still up in their cars. Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne got the golf cart keys from the boys and began driving the men back and forth so they could go swimming as well.
A few of the women also wanted to go swimming and were happy to learn there was a dedicated Women’s Locker Room for them to use. So, once all the men had gotten their swimsuits, the Covers began driving the women back and forth to their cars as well.
The Cover boys showed the new boys how to use the lockers out on the pool deck once they had changed. A few wanted to swim in the indoor pool, but Robert told them that the lifeguards were outside right now, and that was where they had to swim.
The lifeguards made sure all the swimmers, twelve and under, wore a life vest. Even the adults were offered a life vest and were encouraged to wear one if they hadn’t swum much, or weren’t a strong swimmer.
The kids were first out on the water toys and they just had a blast. Mark’s friends didn’t know where to begin, so they raced from one toy to the next. The toy the smaller boys like the best was the new water toy called RockIt.
Lonnie, Gabe and Jamie talked Briggs, Spencer, Glenn, Taylor and Drew into playing King of the Raft with them. It was three against five but the five had no concept of the game and were at a disadvantage. It wasn’t until Robert and his friends went over to Mark’s older friends and explained how they needed to gang up on the three that they could win.
Once that game was over the dads got into playing the game. It was frightening for the lifeguards seeing so many big adults playing the game with so many kids that Russell blew his whistle and told them they had to limit the number to twelve because there were over sixty people swimming in the cove and only five guards. Mr. Ken was happy Russell took charge.
Matthew asked Mr. Wayne if he would change into his swimsuit and then take the Jet Ski out and take the towing tube back and forth with Mark and his friends. Mr. Wayne knew that Russell had his hands full, with all the adults and kids swimming, so he went and changed.
Mr. Wayne got the towing tube out and then asked Robert to be the observer as he drove the three-seat Jet Ski and towed Mark and some of his friends back and forth. Robert yelled for Mark to go with them.
When Mark heard what they wanted him to do, he was a little scared, but Robert told him he needed to try it as it was part of being a Cover. So, Mark agreed. Robert yelled over to Mark’s friends that they were going to begin giving towing tube rides and they should watch Mark so they knew what to do.
Mr. Wayne went back and forth with Mark on the tube bouncing and laughing. Then on one final turn the Estate Master sped up and purposely turned hard that threw the boy off the tube and he went skipping along the water. The almost ten-year-old came up laughing still.
The rest of the boys couldn’t wait to be next.
Mark asked Mr. Wayne to take Kieran next. He did. The young boy was lighter than Mark and he bounced much more than Mark did and he laughed the entire time. He also knew that at the end he would be flung along the water.
But for him, Mr. Wayne slowed the Jet Ski down like he was going to make the slow turn and then speed up, but instead he gunned the Jet Ski and essentially pulled the tube from under the boy. Kieran didn’t expect that, but he still came up laughing after he was unceremoniously dumped into the lake.
Delta and Randy Oxtter saw what Mr. Wayne had done to their son and they laughed as well.
All of Mark’s friends got to try the towing tube and they all got dumped into the lake a different way. Then a few of the dads wanted to try it, but by then Mr. Wayne was worn out. The pounding of the Jet Ski takes a lot out of you, so the Estate Master begged off. But Russell said he was available, as long as there weren’t as many swimmers his team had to watch.
The adults all agreed to get out of the water and watch as they took turns on the towing tube. The boys then played on the water toys, with most of them wanting to play on RockIt to see how high they could get one another.
The lighter boys convinced the heavier, older boys to get on the three other arms of Rock It and as the four boys rocked the toy back and forth and up and down the lighter boy had to judge when it was the best time to let go. With so many boys there that day their screams and laughter coming from Three Finger Cove carried across the lake.
Logan and Sydney swam and talked, but they didn’t participate in any of the games the boys played. They did go out to the Jungle Joe II and lay in the warm water of the lower section. They also tried the slide. They did climb the Rave Iceberg Climbing Wall, so Sydney would know what that was all about. They held hands as they jumped off.
Alexa and Billy also swam some. They went out to the Jungle Joe II, but Billy didn’t go down the slide because of his ribs and internal injuries. They also went over and laid on the platform runway and talked as they got some sun.
When they were being inundated by the boys also wanting to use the runway to go back and forth between the two big water toys, they decided to go into the beach where they sat and talked some more. They also went up on the dock and talked there to get out of the sand.
The picnic was a great success and the day wasn’t even over. Mr. Ken was happy he had invited the Goldersons’ friends over. He only wished that Levi and Miriam could have been there. He made a mental note to make sure he had another picnic and invited everyone again. Then the Labor Day Picnic entered his mind and he decided to ask Wayne what he thought about having everyone back then, knowing that if he did, the picnic would be huge.
Mark and his friends were having a blast out in the cove. There was so much to do. The one thing they wished they could do was take out one of the small sailboats. But Mr. Ken told them that since none of them had any experience sailing, he wouldn’t let them take them out. He did tell Mark that Charles could take him out and introduce him to what sailing was all about, but he wouldn’t be able to take one out by himself.
As the day wore on, a slight breeze came up and a few of the boys got cold and they asked if they could swim in the indoor pool. Mr. Ken told them that if they wanted to do that, they had to rinse the lake water off in the Locker Room showers before they jumped in the pool. Then he told them they had to pass his swim test.
The boys asked why they had to take a swim test when they’ve been swimming out in the cove all afternoon. Mr. Ken told them that was his Rule, and that if they didn’t take the test they didn’t swim. The owner of The Cove told them to search out Terran and ask him about what happened if they don’t take the test.
Before long, all of Mark’s friends were swimming in the indoor pool. They were all jumping off the ledge and just having more fun to add to their day. Of course, the rest of the Covers’ friends joined them, so the pool was overflowing with swimmers.
The lifeguards had the boys play a few of the games they devised, but before long, Mr. Ken asked them all to change and head back up to the Pavilion to eat. The older boys just changed as they usually did right out in front of all the boys. The younger ones got an eye full of grown boy junk, and they felt a little embarrassed with their own, still growing, boyhood.
As the older boys walked back up to the Pavilion, since the adults had taken all of the golf carts, Briggs, Glenn, Taylor, Drew and Spencer asked Billy to tell them more about what happened the night of the home invasion.
The rest of the boys close by, heard the question and they too, wanted to hear the answer. Billy told them that all he could tell them about was what happened to him, as he was upstairs in his bedroom, being beat up by three men, while Mr. and Mrs. Golderson were downstairs somewhere.
Briggs asked the Cover what Billy could tell them about some guys named ‘Smokey’ and ‘Greaser.’ The teen asked him to tell them more than what was said on the news and in the newspaper.
Billy said he didn’t know what was said in either one, as he was in the hospital the past five days. But he did tell them that ‘Smokey’ was the main drug dealer in the county before he was killed last year. The Cover told the gathered group about what he knew of the shootout and how the man died at the hospital.
Billy then told them that ‘Greaser’ was his step-dad. That stopped the group in their tracks.
The adults saw the boys walking up towards the pavilion and then all of a sudden, they stopped. They wondered why that happened. They saw the boys stay where they were and then talk some more. Mr. Wayne took one of the golf carts down to the group to see what that was all about. When he arrived, he was surprised to learn Billy was telling them about his step-dad. He asked them to finish the story up at the Pavilion.
Mr. Wayne drove back up to the Pavilion and he took Billy with him. The Estate Master told the teen he’d already swam quite a bit that day and had been out in the sun all day and he looked spent to him and needed to sit down and rest. Billy agreed and got into the cart.
When the two Covers arrived at the Pavilion, Mr. Wayne and Billy went over to Mr. Ken and told him what the group was talking about, as they walked up to the Pavilion. Mr. Ken had wondered if that would ever come up during the day. He figured the adults would take Mark aside and talk to him. He never figured the young children would pull Bill aside and do that.
Mr. Ken took Billy and Mark aside and asked them if they would talk to all of Levi and Miriam’s friends to help them understand what happened last Sunday night. Both boys said they didn’t know anything except what happened upstairs and Mark said he was inside the Safe Room and didn’t see anything, ever.
Mr. Ken asked everyone to take a seat under the Pavilion. When everyone was settled, he told them that Billy and Mark agreed to tell them what they knew about what happened last Sunday night in the Goldersons’ home. He asked them to hold any questions until they were finished.
Mark went first. He told them that earlier in the week Billy received a phone call from one of his friends and they talked for about forty minutes. Lonnie spoke up and said it was him. Mark then said on Wednesday, when Billy was in the shower, his cell phone rang and he answered it.
Mark said it was another one of his ‘big brother’s’ friends, but he didn’t know it was the one friend that Mr. Ken had banned from The Cove. Mark then said he agreed not to tell Billy that he called, as the teen wanted to surprise him by stopping by. Mark continued and said the surprise was Kaden stopped by with those three men and they pushed themselves into the house and were after Billy.
Mark told the crowd that when Billy learned that it might be Kaden at the door he was sent up to the Safe Room. The boy said he listened to what was happening downstairs and when he heard the yelling, he quickly went into the Safe Room and stayed there until after the gunshots stopped.
Billy then got up and told everyone that when he heard that Kaden had called him, he was pissed that Mark hadn’t told him. Then, when he heard he was at the door, he said he smelled trouble and sent his little ‘brother’ up to the Safe Room. He wished now he had Mark take his cell phone with him.
Billy continued and told the group how the men pushed Levi into the Family Room and the guy known as Santiago demanded to know where their guns were. The teen told them how Santiago put his gun to Miriam’s head and Levi rushed him and the man hit Mr. Golderson across his head with his gun.
Billy added that the guy whose name was Bennett then took Mr. Golderson into his office while he and Mrs. Golderson stayed in the Family Room. Then a few minutes later the two came back into the Family Room with Mr. Golderson holding his head as if he’d been hit again.
Billy told them that Kaden was sent out to the garage to get something to tie Mr. and Mrs. Golderson up with and once that was done, the three men left Kaden to watch over his foster parents and they took him up to his bedroom.
Billy told the adults and their kids that the men wanted to know why he called the police on ‘Smokey’ and ‘Greaser’ that got them killed by the police last year around the 4th of July. Billy told them that he never called the police, because if he did that his mom who was married to ‘Greaser’, who was his step-dad, would be disappointed. He told them that was when the men started to beat him.
Billy told the people sitting in the Pavilion that the men asked him about ‘Smokey’s’ drug business and why he called the police and that every time he told them he never called the police they each took a turn and hit him.
Billy said that they took their time in asking him questions and beating on him. He told them that he wound up with a broken nose, a busted lip and eardrum, two black eyes that they could still see, a few cracked ribs and possible internal injuries that they were still monitoring to make sure they did not bleed internally.
Billy told them that he didn’t know how long the men beat on him, but that they did go out of the room to talk. He said he heard muffled voices, because by then he was pretty beat up. Then all of a sudden, he heard one of the men race down the stairs and then there were some gunshots.
Billy said he heard one of the other men race down the stairs and that there were some more gunshots. And then the third man ran down the stairs and then there were a lot of gunshots. Billy said that after a few minutes Mark came out of hiding and he told him to go back into the Safe Room.
Billy ended his story by saying neither he nor Mark know what happened downstairs during the gunshots. He told them that they were both upstairs and didn’t see what happened to Mr. and Mrs. Golderson during the shooting. The Pavilion was pin drop quiet after the teen stopped talking.
Randy Oxtter stood up and told the group that he talked to Levi about the shootings and that what was told on the news and in the papers was essentially what happened in their master bedroom. Randy added that Levi was able to attack Kaden, get to his gun and hit the Panic Button, but by then, Kaden’s yell brought the first man who shot him.
Mr. Oxtter told the group that Levi returned fire and hit the man and when the man shot one more time Levi shot the man through the wall and it essentially killed him as he died right outside the bedroom.
Randy continued and said that the second man came down and shot Kaden in the back for not doing his job, and he was subsequently shot by Levi. Mr. Oxtter said that the third man came down and picked up the first man’s gun and fired it indiscriminately into the bedroom and that was how Miriam was hit. And added that the man continued firing and when the gun clicked, he ran out to their waiting car.
Troy Arkere, Darren’s dad, asked Billy what happened after ‘Greaser’ was shot dead. Billy told him that the police got a search warrant for the house and found all the drugs that his step-dad and mom stored for ‘Smokey’ and they arrested her and she was now in prison which was why he was in the system.
Mark was now hearing one of his ‘brothers’ stories and why he was living with Mr. Ken. He sort of knew why Billy was a foster boy, but hearing that his step-dad and mom ran drugs for a big drug dealer was something new to him. He now wondered why his other ‘brothers’ were living with his foster dad.
Mr. Ken told everyone it was time for dinner. He asked the boys to get everything ready and to let them know when they all could eat. Twenty minutes later the ladies were allowed to go through the line first and fix their hamburger and or hot dog. The men went next and their kids were next. After that was Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne, then Billy and the rest of the Cover boys, to be followed by their friends.
Everyone sat underneath the Pavilion and with all the tables and benches there was just enough seating for everyone when they squeezed together. The party atmosphere had continued and for that Mr. Ken was happy.
When everyone had eaten, and the area was cleaned up, the boys went back out onto the Cove Skate Park and enjoyed the brand-new facility. The adults sat around and talked about the day and they all thanked their host for inviting them. They all said they had seen the carnival the night of the 4th of July fireworks, but they didn’t know he was the one responsible for them, back then.
They also told Mr. Ken, they had heard about The Cove through Billy, some, and had secretly wished that one day they would get the opportunity to visit. They were all grateful they were there, but not for the reason that brought them there.
The Covers’ friends had to leave at six o’clock, which was their usual time to go home, and the Cover boys walked their friends over to the Main Gate. Mark walked over with them and that was the first time that many of the parents got to meet the newest Cover, as he was usually at the hospital with his own parents.
Mr. Ken was also there and he introduced Mark to the men and women and told them that his newest foster son would be with him until his mom and dad were well enough, they could take care of themselves and Mark again.
After the Cover’s friends departed The Cove, the Covers went back to their guests and the conversation and play continued. They even turned the lights on so the boys and girls could skate late.
But by nine o’clock, the moms said it was time they all got home. The dads picked up the lawn chairs they had brought and gave them to their sons to carry over to their cars. They all began to give their thanks for the wonderful day they all had and hoped they could do that again one day.
Sydney and Logan had exchanged cell phone numbers earlier and they said they’d call one another often. Randy and Delta liked Logan. He seemed like a kind and polite young man and Randy knew who he was from what Shawn Boemieller said about the teen receiving the Boy Scout Lifesaving Award, which said a whole lot about the character of the boy.
After their guests left, Mr. Ken sent all of his ‘boys’ up to bed. He told them he’d be up soon. But before he went up to say goodnight to them, he told Wayne to take tomorrow off. He told the man he’d been working way too much since Mark arrived, and he needed some time off for himself.
Mr. Wayne told the man that he needed time off for himself as well. The two men had a good laugh. They then went up to talk to the boys.
They started in Mark’s room. Mark couldn’t say enough about the picnic and being able to see all of his friends and enjoy all of the things they had there at The Cove with them. He told them he would remember that day all of his life. He hugged both men for doing that for him. He did lament that his parents weren’t there, though. Mr. Ken told him that when they were better, he’d have them over for a picnic, again. Mark smiled at hearing that.
Matthew told his ‘dad’ that he had a great time with Mark’s friends’. He told him it was fun having new boys to do things with who hadn’t ever done some of the things they do there at The Cove. He thanked his ‘dad’ for having the picnic.
The twins said almost the same thing. Charles was happy that he too had some new friends to share playing on the rafts with, and he told his dad he was looking forward to taking Mark out in the sailboat one day.
Robert told his dad that the picnic was fun, period. The teen told his dad that with all those new guests who’d never been to The Cove before, it was awesome showing them how much fun they could have there at The Cove. The teen said he thought they all had fun including the adults.
In Bill’s room, the older teen was super tired, but happy as well. He thanked Mr. Ken for having the picnic and allowing him to talk to all of the Goldersons’ friends. He said it felt like a big weight was taken off his shoulders, now that he was able to explain what happened that night to them, and that he had nothing to do with why it all happened.
Bill said he still didn’t understand why the men blamed him for ‘Smokey’s’ and ‘Greaser’s’ deaths. He knew Charles told him what happened, the night of the 4th of July last year and he could only blame ‘Smokey’ himself for being so arrogant, in thinking he could get Charles to go with him, and then take the boy by force. That, Bill knew, was the beginning of the man’s own downfall.
Bill lightly hugged Mr. Ken for accepting him back at The Cove and when they separated the teen had tears falling down his cheeks. Mr. Ken told Bill he was glad to have him back.
The saga of Three Finger Cove continues. Let Chowhound know you are reading his story: Chowhound at CastleRoland dot Net
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