Published: 13 Oct 2022
From Previous Chapter:
Knowing they had another day at Discovery Kingdom, Mr. Ken wasn’t too concerned that the group arrived back at the hotel later than he had wished. He told the boys not to stay up too late watching the television, and he would see them down in the lobby by ten the next morning.
The boys had their marching orders, and headed up to their rooms. The adults were going to search out some adult refreshments before heading up to their hotel rooms, when Levi asked Wayne to change his dressing, as it hadn’t been changed in 36 hours.
After the dressing change the two men found Mr. Ken in the lounge and joined him for a drink or two before all three headed up for their own bed. Everyone slept well that evening.
Saturday morning the group met in the hotel lobby. It was then Mr. Ken told everyone that they were going out for a good breakfast. The boys moaned some at hearing that, but their ‘dad’ told them just like last night they needed a good meal, they needed a good breakfast to get them through the day.
Their drivers took them to an IHOP (International House of Pancakes) where the group of eleven were seated at a middle grouping of tables. They had two servers who quickly brought out glasses of water and took their drink orders while the adults and boys looked over the menus.
The boys had been to IHOP many times and they practically knew what they would get, but they looked the menu over anyway. Mr. Ken knew what he was getting and so did Mr. Wayne. It was Mr. Levi who didn’t eat out all that often who needed some time to decide what he wanted to eat for breakfast.
When the servers returned the boys ordered the 2x2x2x2. That came with 2 eggs, 2 hickory smoked bacon strips, 2 sausage links and 2 fluffy pancakes. Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne ordered the Breakfast Sampler that came with 2 eggs, 2 hickory bacon strips, 2 sausage links, 2 ham slices, hash browns and 2 fluffy pancakes.
Mr. Levi was perplexed at all the choices, but he eventually decided on the Split Decision, which came with 2 eggs, 2 hickory bacon strips, 2 sausage links, 2 pieces of French toast, instead of hash browns, and 2 fluffy pancakes.
The large group talked amongst themselves and their banter was somewhat disturbing to the other guests, but seeing they were seated in the middle of the dining area, what could anyone do? Boys will be boys and they will talk over one another as they try to be heard. But once their meals were served it did get quiet in their section.
It was close to 1 p.m. when the group arrived at Discovery Kingdom that Saturday. And being it was a Saturday the park was very busy. With school starting just around the corner, many families were there to enjoy the park before it was too late.
Jasmine took them all out to get them their Fastest Passes for the day and as soon as they had them, they split up into the same groups they had yesterday and then went off and rode the rides.
Today the younger boys stopped at Crystal Lil’s. This was a mirror maze that they bypassed because it was similar to what was at the carnival over the 4th of July. But Mark never got to try that so, today, they went through it.
The attendant wouldn’t let them all go through at the same time, so he staggered them at about one-minute intervals. Since Mark and his dad had never gone through one before, the other boys made them go last just in case they caught up to them too quickly.
Mark and his dad did have a difficult time trying to figure out the best way to get through the maze of mirrors and find the exit. They laughed as they bumped into mirrors, they thought were openings and they cheered when they found a way through. The father and son had a good time doing that together, and they hugged when they finally got out the exit.
The day was a repeat of the previous day. The boys rode all of the rides they’d ridden the day before and this time Mark didn’t hold onto anyone. Mr. Ken did come out into the park and ride more of the rides with the boys and for that, they were extremely happy.
Before they left for the day, the boys all thanked Ms. Rennartz for her hospitality and told her they would hopefully be back for her Christmas Wonders presentation during the Holidays.
Mr. Ken told Julia that he would see her the weekend after Labor Day for their first annual meeting of the park operation managers and for her to plan to arrive Thursday evening and stay through Sunday. He told her he had hotel reservations already made for everyone and they would receive an information packet around the first of September.
Julia said she was looking forward to meeting all of the other managers, first hand, and learning who he was appointing as his Vice-President. Little did she know that he had created Three Finger Entertainment, LLC and there would be a President leading it and administering all four parks from his new office building.
The group stopped for another good meal before heading to the hotel to pack. During the meal, the boys talked about what they’d done so far and how the three parks compared to one another. Levi Golderson listened to how the boys not only compared the parks, but told how they would change things up or add this ride or take a ride out.
Mr. Golderson focused on Charles as the one who had the most to say about the parks. The young teen seemed to have a keen interest in all three parks and his observations went from the park’s entrances to the rides to the grounds to the paint schemes to the theming. He wondered if that was where the teenager would gravitate to after he finished college.
Back at the hotel, ‘dad’ Ken told the boys to pack and leave out the clothes they wanted to wear at Crystal Lake tomorrow. He encouraged them to relax before going to bed and to meet him in the lobby at eight o’clock.
Everyone went up to their rooms to pack. Mark and Kevin helped Mr. Levi pack, and when the three were packed, Mr. Wayne came over to change Mr. Levi’s dressing. The two adults then joined Mr. Ken downstairs to enjoy a few adult beverages before going to bed themselves. The third stop of the Covers summer trip was over. Everyone slept well that night.
The boys woke up to a noisy thunderstorm Sunday morning. They all had to look out the window and watch the rain come down and wonder if it was raining at Crystal Lake. Doing that slowed them down somewhat getting cleaned up and dressed and they were all late coming down to the hotel lobby.
Mr. Ken had already settled the hotel bill and was waiting for the boys to arrive. When they did, he had them help the drivers put the bags in the vans, while the rain was still coming down hard. The boys complained they’d got wet doing that, but their ‘dad’ told them they wouldn’t melt, and asked them to hurry it up as they were running late.
When the group arrived at the airport, the pilots told Mr. Ken that the strong storm would delay their takeoff for at least 30 minutes and maybe longer depending on how long it lingered in the area. When ‘dad’ Ken told the boys about the delay they weren’t too happy, but ‘dad’ Ken reminded them that they’d had great weather up until then and they should be happy for that. The boys all settled down and found seats and waited.
The TSA agents processed the group’s bags while they waited and they had them go through security check-in, so when their aircraft was cleared, they could head out to the plane and be on their way. The boys were at least happy they wouldn’t be delayed any longer than they already were.
Mr. Golderson couldn’t believe the size of the air charter they would be flying in, to their next destination. Mr. Ken told him it was a 14-seat Gulfstream 650E and was very plush inside and told him to sit up front with him and Wayne when he got inside, as the teens would take the middle seats and the younger boys would go towards the back.
Mr. Levi couldn’t believe the difference between what he flew to Discovery Kingdom in, to what he was now flying in, to Crystal Lake. To him it was like night and day. The Gulfstream 150 was nicely appointed, but the 650E was filled with warm wood and plush seats and soft carpeting. And the two restrooms were something he wasn’t expecting.
The Cover group was an hour late leaving the airport, which would put them an hour behind for the whole day. The boys were a bit bummed out over that, so Mr. Ken went to the back of the aircraft and told the boys they had the rest of day to enjoy the amusement park, and all of the following day, so they wouldn’t miss anything.
The boys asked their ‘dad’ if he knew if it was raining where they were going. So, Mr. Ken went up to the flight attendant and asked them to find out what the weather report was for their destination. When they boys learned there were showers in the area they moaned and hoped they’d get to ride at least a few rides today.
Since it was a fairly short time they would spend in the air after reaching peak altitude, the boys only got a simple breakfast of a few pancakes and some milk while the adults got the same, but with coffee. Levi was even more impressed with what the flight attendant could do on that big of a business aircraft.
Upon landing, Robert looked out the window and noticed another business jet parked at the terminal, but this one had CWE painted on the side of it. He was hopeful that his older ‘brother’ Collin was there waiting on them.
The teenager told his dad that they may have company when they entered the building. He didn’t say anything to his ‘brothers’, though, as he didn’t want to be wrong and if he was right, he wanted them to be surprised when they all entered the terminal building.
After the pilots shut down the business jet’s engines and the flight attendant opened the cabin door, the rain began to come down hard. The boys now had to run fast the 500 feet to the terminal to get out of it. They were all somewhat wet when they entered the building and none of them noticed who was standing there waiting there for them.
But Robert did notice his older ‘brother’ and he went over to Collin and hugged the teenager. The two talked and as they did Eric came over and he hugged his ‘big bro’, too. Eventually, all the boys recognized Collin was there and they all came over to say Hi to him and get a hug.
“And who do we have here?” asked Collin, knowing he had a new ‘brother’ whose name was Mark.
“I’m Mark,” said the newest Cover, who then shook Collin’s hand.
“And I’m Collin, Mark. I was my Big Brother’s first foster son,” replied the older teen.
By then the three adults were inside the terminal. Mr. Ken brought Levi Golderson over to the gathering of boys and he introduced the man to his first foster son.
“Levi, I want you to meet Collin Wilkinson. He was my first foster son. Collin, this is Levi Golderson, Mark’s dad, who I take it you’ve already met. They are staying with us while their house is being repaired after a home invasion from a few weeks back, which you already know from our phone conversations, but I can tell you more later, if need be” offered Mr. Ken, as his introduction to the two new faces.
Their transportation drivers asked Mr. Ken if they could wait until the rains slowed up before getting their bags from the aircraft. Mr. Ken said that would be okay with him as they didn’t need wet clothes. The wait added another thirty minutes delay to their day.
When the travelers finally arrived at the hotel, the boys helped with the bags while Mr. Ken and Collin went to register. The desk clerk questioned Collin and his age and his being allowed to book a room. Mr. Ken told them the room had probably been booked through his company, CWE, Inc. and he had stayed there last June and that he would vouch for the teen, if need be.
The desk clerk wasn’t too sure about doing that, so Mr. Ken told them to get the manager. The desk clerk wasn’t too sure about doing that either, so Mr. Ken took out the manager’s business card, from when he was there last June, and made the call. Three minutes later the manager came out to the front.
“Mr. Thomas … it is so good to have you back here again with us,” began the manager, to the chagrin of the desk clerk. “I see the rains have delayed you, some, but these rains … they will come and go throughout the day, but they should clear up by tomorrow. So, Collin’s company … they booked him in and they forgot to mention he was under twenty-one again.
“That won’t be a problem. He was with us last June, as were his pilots, and all three are also booked in this time as well. And, if I remember correctly, he traveled with you last December as one of your party, too.
“It is so good that you continue to use our wonderful hotel when you travel here. You’ve been here a number of times without your boys, too, and I hope you will continue to choose us when you travel here. Let me help the clerk get you your room cards,” offered the hotel manager, as Mr. Ken and Collin looked on.
By then Mr. Wayne and Mr. Levi had walked over to find out what the delay was in getting their room keys. They heard what the manager said, so they knew there was a story behind that and hoped they would get the 411 later on their ride out to the park.
Room cards finally in hand, everyone headed up to their rooms. This time Eric was staying with his ‘dad’, Mark and Kyle were staying with Mr. Levi, Mr. Wayne was bunking with Matthew and Kevin, so Billy, Robert and Charles had the teen room. Collin, of course, had his own hotel room.
They all met down in the hotel lobby fifteen minutes later after using the bathroom and draining their dragons. They had three vehicles to take them out to Crystal Lake, but they also needed to get something to eat, so the discussion, before they departed the hotel, was where they would eat.
The boys wanted to eat at a fast-food place, so they could get out to the park and get riding the rides. So, that was what they did. Mr. Ken did promise Wayne, Levi and Collin they’d get a good meal later that night.
Arnie Arnolds was waiting on the travelers when they arrived at the operations building. Mr. Ken immediately noticed something different. He asked Arnie what had changed. Arnie told the park’s owner that Jason had bought two 3500 psi pressure washers, with the money he gave them, and hired two men to use them.
Arnie explained that Jason had them learn how to use the pressure washers there and at the loading docks and made both places look so good that it made the employees smile when they came to work. Then Arnie told how Jason had the men pressure wash around every food stand to make the areas look sparkling clean.
Arnie continued and told Mr. Ken, that Jason then had the men pressure clean the restrooms and their entrance areas as well as the park’s main entrance. Then, with a smile, he told how people were now commenting on how much nicer and cleaner the park has become.
Mr. Ken smiled at hearing that and knew that he would have to go out into the park and see what difference the pressure washing had done. He knew, firsthand, how pressure washing would change the look of an area and, if what Jason had done was true, he’d make sure Ben incorporated pressure washing at all of the parks.
While Arnie was explaining about the pressure washing to Mr. Ken, Charles saw his friend Ron and a lady sort of standing over in the corner, and out of the way, and he went over to them. The two boys smiled at one another as they shook hands.
Ron introduced Charles to his mom and by then, the rest of the boys and Mr. Wayne had come over and the introductions continued. Mr. Ken saw the commotion and he too went over where everyone had congregated.
“Hello, you must be Ron,” spoke up Mr. Ken, as he walked over to the teenager and woman. “I am Ken Thomas. I don’t know if Charles told you about me, but I am his dad and I own Crystal Lake.”
“Yes, sir, he did. I am Ron, and this is my mom, Marci,” said the teenager in reply.
“It is good to meet you, Ron, and you, as well, Marci. Just before we came on this trip, I heard about how my ‘sons’ scammed my Fast, Faster, Fastest Pass System when we were here the last time and got you on the rides with them,” laughed Mr. Ken.
“It is good you could join us today. I want to invite you to join the boys as they ride the rides again, but this time I want you to have your own Fastest Pass. And not only for today, but since we will also be here tomorrow, I want you to join us then, too. That is if your mom will allow you.
“And mom, Marci, if you have the time, I want you to join us today and tomorrow. And, if you can’t tomorrow, we can have Ron meet us at the hotel and he can ride with us to and from the park. We have two large vans and a limo, so there is no shortage of seats. We can talk about that later,” offered the owner of Crystal Lake.
Mr. Ken then introduced Wayne, Levi and Arnie to Marci. He explained to her what their positions were so she understood who they were and what responsibilities they held in her host’s organization. The woman knew she would learn more as she talked to them during the day.
The boys were anxious to get out into the park and begin riding the rides. Mr. Arnolds then took a few moments to welcome them back to Crystal Lake and then the operations manager had someone from the front office take everyone out to the FFF Pass Booth to get them their Fastest Passes for the day.
Marci and Ron followed along with everyone and Ron and Charles talked as they all walked out to the FFF Pass Booth to get their Fastest Passes. Marci was still a bit overwhelmed over her son’s chance meeting with a bunch of boys at the park a few months ago that garnered her and him an invitation to the park not only for one day, but two days, with Fastest Passes to boot.
Mr. Ken asked Arnie for a communications radio and a call sign as he wanted to go out into the park and walk around and look things over. That surprised Mr. Arnolds as the man hadn’t done that before, but he wasn’t going to question the park’s owner, so he took Mr. Ken over to the communications center and gave him a radio.
But Arnie told the man he had to activate it for him before he could go out into the park. Arnie made a Coded call to all radio holders. “This is Park One to all radios. Stand By for an important update. Owner One is now active. … I repeat … Owner One is now active … and is out in the park. No acknowledgement of this transmission is necessary. Park One out!”
Mr. Ken smiled at the call sign and accepted the radio. He then asked if there was a Crystal Lake polo shirt he could wear, so he would at least look the part. The two then headed over to the wardrobe department where they found a shirt identifying him as a Crystal Lake supervisor.
Mr. Ken wasn’t too happy with what he was given to wear. The owner of the park thought he should have something better to wear for when he visited each of the parks. He decided he would have Ben design something for him for next year.
It took the FFF Pass Booth personnel quite some time to process thirteen Fastest Passes. Mr. Wayne told the process team to take care of the boys first, so they could get out in the park and start riding the amusements. He told the workers they, the adults, would catch up with them later.
While the group was in the FFF Pass Booth, they heard Arnie’s call go out over the radio and the boy’s all giggled knowing their ‘dad’ would be out in the park. Ron asked Charles what that meant. Charles told Ron and his mom that it sounded like Mr. Arnolds was warning the workers that the park’s owner was out in the park and not to mess up. The two teens laughed.
Mr. Wayne heard what Charles told Ron, so he went over to them and told them that applied to them too. Marci burst out laughing when she heard that. She then told Wayne that now she understood what Mr. Thomas meant by saying his job was to keep the boys ‘in line’.
When Collin, Robert, Eric, Charles and Ron had their Fastest Passes they were ready to head out, but they then realized they needed a sixth person so they would each have a buddy to ride with them.
Levi told Wayne to go ahead, get his pass and ride with the boys on the bigger rides since he and Billy couldn’t ride them. He added that they and Marci would stick with the younger boys and get on the rides they could.
So, that was how the group split up after they left the FFF Pass Booth. The older boys and Mr. Wayne quickly headed to the four roller coasters Crystal Lake Amusement Park had. The other group just walked and rode the rides as they came to them.
The Scrambler was the first ride the younger boys came to, so they all decided they could ride it. They all activated their Fastest Passes and waited to be called, which didn’t take long because of the ride operators knowing the owner was there and had brought his ‘sons’.
Levi and Mark rode together, while Billy and Matthew got in the same gondola. Kevin and Kyle asked Marci to ride with them as they hadn’t had any woman do anything with them ever since they came to live at The Cove and they wanted that interaction and feeling, again.
When the ride was over, the twins thanked Marci with a hug for riding with them. The woman was gracious and accepted the accolade and hug then asked them why the hug. Kevin looked to Kyle who told her that they’d been in an accident almost a year ago and hadn’t been with their mom ever since. The twins then broke down and cried. Marci pulled them to her and hugged them to her.
Matthew knew the significance of what the twins had said to Marci. But he didn’t know what to do. He asked Billy how they could get a hold of ‘dad’ Ken. The teenager thought for a moment and then went to the ride operator and asked if he could call a supervisor over.
The ride operator knew who the boys were, so he called for the area supervisor to come there. He told them why he needed them there and they got there within five minutes. When the supervisor asked what they needed, Billy told her they needed Owner One to come to the Scrambler and it was an emergency.
The supervisor didn’t want to bother Owner One, but Mr. Levi told the ride supervisor that Mr. Thomas would want to know that his ‘sons’ needed him, and that delaying his getting there was not a good idea. The supervisor called for Owner One to come to the Scrambler.
Mr. Ken had no idea why he was being called to the Scrambler, and when he asked all the supervisor would say over the radio was that Billy asked for him. Mr. Ken knew that it had to be important, so he walked there as fast as he could.
When Owner One arrived, the twins saw him and they ran to him and cried on his shoulders. Marci tried to get Mr. Levi to tell her what that was all about, but he told her that he was a guest of Mr. Thomas’ and that he’d only been there for about four weeks and he didn’t know all of the history of the boys. Marci was disappointed as she knew there was a big story behind the boy’s action.
‘Dad’ Ken pulled the boys away from everyone to talk to them. He didn’t want anyone to hear what they were talking about. The ride supervisor was glad she made the call to have Owner One come there. By then Park Two, Jason Zimms, Mr. Ken’s Resident Administrator at Crystal Lake Amusement Park, also arrived to see why the park’s owner had been called there.
Billy saw Mr. Zimms arrive and he went over to him. The ride supervisor tried to keep him away, but Jason knew who Billy was, so he asked him if he knew why Mr. Thomas was talking to the twins.
Billy explained that it had been almost a year that Kevin and Kyle have been living with Mr. Ken, and it had been that long that they hadn’t been with their mom and riding with Marci just now brought back tons of memories. The teenager suggested that they just needed Mr. Ken to help them work though their not being with their mom for that long a time. Jason thanked Billy for the back story.
When Mr. Ken and the twins were finished talking, they walked over to the ride supervisor and Mr. Ken thanked her for calling him over, so he could talk to the boys. He then asked Jason what brought him over and Jason said he was curious as to why the owner, himself, was being called to handle a situation.
Mr. Ken thanked Jason for responding and then he told him and the ride supervisor they could go back to wherever they would normally be. Mr. Ken then told his group he’d stay with them for a bit, before he continued checking out the rest of the park.
The group came upon the Swinging Boat and the boys got excited. Mark was especially excited now that he’d ridden one a few times. He asked his dad to ride the uppermost seat with him. But they had to contend with the other boys as they too wanted the upper seats. But since there were seven of them Marci said she’d sit that one out and let the six of them take the two uppermost seats at either end. The boys all thanked her for doing that.
Mr. Ken and Marci talked while the others rode the Swinging Boat. Marci told her host that she was skeptical when Ron told her about meeting them at the operations building. But she told him she’d seen the pictures from when he met his boys earlier in June, and she knew of the phone call inviting them to meet them, so she figured they had nothing to lose if they came over. She told him she was happy now that they had.
Marci did ask Mr. Ken about the boys and if they would be OK. She told him they explained to her they hadn’t been with their mom for almost a year, and her being with them on the ride brought back some memories and that brought them to tears.
Mr. Ken told her that he doesn’t talk to people about why the boys are in the foster care system that brought them to him. He continued that kids are in the foster care system usually because of something the parents did. But, in the case of the twins, the family was in a horrific accident, almost a year ago, and their parents received multiple broken bones and burns and were transferred to a burn unit and the rest is history.
Mr. Ken told Marci a little fib that Kevin and Kyle had seen their parents over the past months, but they haven’t been able to be with them and it will be some time before they will be back together as a family. Marci said she hoped it wouldn’t be too much longer and let the question drop. Mr. Ken was relieved for that.
When the boys came off the Swinging Boat and the group began to walk towards their next ride Mark and Matthew saw two very young boys walking away from a food stand and the youngest trip, fall down and spill his soda. The boy began to cry hysterically. Both Mark and Matthew ran over to the boy and got there just as the boy’s mother did.
“Jessy, are you OK?” asked the mother, but Jessy continued to cry as his mother tried to console him. She did thank the two boys for coming over to her son’s aid though.
By that time Mr. Ken and the rest of the group came over to see if they could help. Mr. Ken, wearing his supervisor’s shirt and carrying his radio, asked Matthew to take the cup over to the food stand and ask them to replace it, since the boy just bought it and tripped.
The mother thanked the man, but said it wasn’t necessary. But Mr. Ken said it was park policy. As the two talked and Jessy calmed down, Matthew and Mark came back and said the man at the food stand said he didn’t see it happen, so he wouldn’t replace the spilled soda.
Mr. Ken decided to walk over there and talk to the food stand manager. When he got there, he asked for the manager and explained the circumstances and asked him to replace the spilled drink. The man told the ‘supervisor’ he had to see it to replace it.
Mr. Ken politely told him it was park policy to replace dropped food items and drinks no questions asked if it happened within a short period of time after the guest left the food stand. The manager would not budge.
Mr. Ken got on his radio and called for a food supervisor to come to that stand without explaining the situation. Three minutes later a food and section supervisor arrived to see what they could do to help there. Park Two also heard the call and Jason told Arnie he’d better go and see what the trouble was and head it off at the start as Mr. Ken was very direct and expected compliance.
Mr. Ken explained the problem to the food supervisor, who immediately went inside and got the replacement drink and gave it to Mr. Ken. The park’s owner then asked the two supervisors if they knew who he was. They said they did, so he told them to tell that manager he’d better change his attitude, or find a new job. Mr. Ken then walked away with the new drink.
The group was talking when Mr. Ken came back with the new drink. The mother, Kate, thanked him for it and then gave it to Jessy. Jessy took a quick drink and then said, “Thank you, mister for getting my drink for me. I sure was thirsty.”
“This is the first time our mom got to bring us out here this year,” spoke up the other boy, who was six- maybe seven-years-old.
“Rusty,” chastised the boy’s mom.
“Did you get to ride many of the rides?” asked Mr. Ken.
“Well, it rained some and the rides were closed for a while, so we didn’t get to ride all that many. Plus, the lines … they all got long when we did try to ride them,” replied Rusty.
“Mark, Matthew … you two game to take these two on some of the smaller rides with your Fastest Passes?” asked their ‘dad’.
The two Cover boys looked at one another and said that might be fun to ride those smaller rides and not get into trouble. So, they asked the lady if it was okay if they took the two boys over to the Frog Hopper, a miniature bouncy ride that went up about 25 feet, and took them on it.
The mother asked the boys if they wanted to ride it. The two asked simultaneously if they could. Mom, Kate, said yes, they could, so the two boys gave their mom their drinks and then grabbed Mark and Matthew’s hand and the four ran over to the ride.
Mark and Matthew presented their Fastest Passes to the ride attendant who was taken aback because they weren’t normally used on the kiddie rides. Then, when he saw who he believed was the park’s owner arrive with a group of people, he knew he better let the four onto the next ride.
The ride only held six children and the people in line were upset that four got ahead of them. Mr. Ken in his supervisor’s shirt explained they had their Fastest Passes and that gave them priority. The two younger boys had a great time.
Mr. Ken told the rest of his group to go find another big kid’s ride, while he, Kate, her boys, Mark and Matthew went and found something else for Rusty and Jessy to ride.
The next ride the younger boys got to ride was the Balloon Ride. This one was a suspended air balloon looking gondola, that had a spindle in the middle that as the ride went around and tilted some, the riders spun the ride around on their own. Mark took Rusty and Matthew took Jessy.
As the four boys rode the ride, Ken and Kate heard the two younger boys laughing as they went around on the ride. They also talked. She learned that he was single, had adopted two teenage boys and had five foster boys with him that day. He learned that she, too was single, and worked as a real estate agent and that her mom took care of the boys while she initially went to college to get her degree.
After that ride the two younger boys also got to ride the smaller version of the swings, a mini pirate ship, and the carousel with the horses going up and down. On that ride, Mark and Matthew stood right next to the boys in case they got unbalanced and slid off the horse.
The two Covers then took the boys on the large version of the airplanes. That ride, when you pulled back on the stick, it took the plane up into the air as the ride spun on a central axle. The older boys let Rusty and Jessy operate the stick and they flew the plane up and down the entire time the ride went around. Kate heard them laughing every time they passed her.
After that ride was over, Mark and Matthew took the boys over to the Kiddie Coaster. Mr. Ken told his ‘boys’ to make sure they held onto the boys tight. Rusty and Jessy laughed and yelled as they went over the small humps with the coaster making three circuits before stopping.
The mini-bumper cars were next. Mark and Matthew told the boys they were too big to ride with them, but they walked into the ride and showed them where the gas pedal was and explained all they had to do was push it with their foot and turn the wheel and hit the other cars.
When the ride started Rusty went right at it whereas Jessy was a bit scared to do that. That was until he got hit a few times and Matthew yelled to him to go after them and hit them. Jessy then pushed the pedal and began hitting the other bumper cars.
Kate saw how much fun her boys were having with the two boys that they began calling their ‘older brothers’. She thanked Ken for taking Mark and Matthew away from their group and having them spend time with Rusty and Jessy.
Ken told her they would be there again tomorrow as well, and the boys would be able to ride the bigger rides all day, then. Kate asked him how he could do that since he was a supervisor and she knew he probably didn’t make all that much money unless the park provided reduced or even free admission for foster kids.
Mark and Matthew heard that exchange and chuckled. Matthew then said his ‘dad’ was more than just a supervisor. Mr. Ken then looked at Matthew which said not to say anything more. The group moved along to other rides for the two younger boys to get on.
Ken and Kate got to know one another fairly well that afternoon. They talked and laughed about the things that happened in their lives. She got to hear how Ken graduated from college, then wound up taking care of foster boys. He learned how, as a teenager, she got mixed up with the wrong crowd, got pregnant out of high school, and then got away from it all and went on to college, while her mom took care of the kids.
As the day moved along and it was getting dark, Ken told Kate that he needed to catch up with the rest of his group. But as he said that the other group found him. Of course, Robert had to ask who the lady was and that started a round of introductions.
That was when Robert let the cat out of the bag that his dad actually owned the park.
“You never told me that you owned the park,” said a surprised Kate.
“Well … it never came up in conversation,” said a smiling Ken Thomas.
Ken then told Kate that he actually owned three other amusement parks and that they were visiting all of them before school began in a few weeks. He told her that they would be back tomorrow and then he asked her if she could come back.
Kate sort of hesitated in answering her new friend, and that gave Ken an opportunity to say that he knew someone who could give her a great deal on free admissions. Everyone laughed.
Ken then took Kate and her two boys over to the FFF Booth where they also issued Season Passes. He asked the manager there if they were processing next year’s Season Passes yet. Learning they were, the park’s owner had the manager issue three complimentary Season Passes for Kate, Rusty and Jessy.
It wasn’t until Rusty had his picture taken and he saw his face on a Season Pass that he understood what he had in his hands. His mom explained to him and his younger brother that the man who got them on the rides had also given them Season Passes for all of this and next year.
Rusty went to Mr. Ken, hugged him and cried as he thanked him for the early Christmas gift. Jessy heard that the Pass was a Christmas gift and he too thanked the man. Kate didn’t know what to say, but to thank the man who befriended her boys, and her, and made her day such a wonderful one. She too had tears in her eyes for what a stranger had done for her boys.
After the Season Passes were processed, Mr. Ken looked at the time and told Kate that he and his group were headed out for dinner, and he asked them to join them. Kate wasn’t too sure about that as it was getting late. But she saw Rusty and Jessy playing with Mark and Matthew and how the other boys were now getting involved, so she said they would.
Mr. Ken quickly called ahead at the place they dined at when they were there before, and asked for a table for sixteen. The manager told him they could make a table for eight and eight, or ten and six but they couldn’t do a table for sixteen. Mr. Ken told him to go ahead with the tables for eight and eight and they’d be there in about forty minutes.
At dinner the two younger boys, of course, sat with Mark and Matthew. Mr. Levi, Billy, Kevin, and Kyle joined them. Mark and Matthew helped Rusty and Jessy with cutting up their meal and everyone talked with the boys about the rides they rode. The two younger boys enjoyed being with the older boys and being the center of attention.
After dinner, Ken made sure he and Kate exchanged phone numbers and then he told her that he would be at the park tomorrow and that if she and the boys decided to stop by, he would like to see them. Kate said she knew that it being a Monday she could not be there the entire day, but they might stop by around five for a couple of hours. She then gave him one of her business cards. Ken gave her one of his standard business cards from The Cove.
Wayne stopped at Levi’s room to change his dressing, then the two headed to the hotel bar for a few adult drinks with Mr. Ken before they all went to bed that evening. The older boys stopped in Collin’s room to talk about Mr. Ken’s infatuation with Kate, and if there would be a long-distance romance in the making.
The travelers all got to bed at a decent hour that Sunday night. They all had interesting dreams, but one Cover had a dream that made him smile and take notice.
The saga of Three Finger Cove continues. Let Chowhound know you are reading his story: Chowhound at CastleRoland dot Net
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