Published: 9 Jan 2025

From The Previous Chapter:

It had been a long day for all of the Covers and ‘dad’ Ken told the boys once they were all in the Study that he wasn’t going to have any sort of meeting. He told them that he would take them out for breakfast in the morning so they all needed to be up, showered, dressed and down in the Nook by 9:30.

The boys all smiled and Charles went over and thanked his dad for deciding to do that for them. ‘Dad’ Ken then told them that he wasn’t going to stop by their rooms tonight, as he needed to get to bed and sleep.

The man hugged all the boys there in the Study and told them all to have a good night’s sleep. All the Covers went to their bedrooms to relax and then got to sleep. Even Chief and her brood were tired from all the time they spent outside that day and they all slept well, themselves. The Cove became quiet throughout the night.

Ken Thomas got up at eight o’clock that Sunday morning. He knew he needed to feed the puppies before he got ready for the day, so he had set his alarm clock so he would wake up at that time. He needed enough time to fix the puppies gruel, feed them and then let them outside to do their business.

Before he went down to get their food bowls, Mr. Ken started softening the kibble into the gruel they would eat. Then, when the man went down to get the pups food bowls, he wished had taken them up to the Kitchen Nook the night before, because as soon as they saw him, they began to bark their squeaky voice at him wanting some attention.

It was when the pups saw him take their food bowls, they knew he was going to feed them pretty soon and they got really active and started barking even more. Chief had to bark back at them to make them stop and lie back down.

Mr. Ken quickly took the bowls up to the Nook to rinse them and then spoon the softened gruel into them in order that he could feed the seven pups. Collin came into the Kitchen Nook just as he started to balance the food bowls on his arm and he took some from him and the two walked down to the Great Room.

The two Covers set the food bowls down and the seven pups rushed to get to the food bowls and they ate what was there as fast as they could. Collin watched for a few moments then realize the puppies needed some water, so he took the water bowls up to the Nook and rinsed them and brought them back with fresh water for the pups to have to wash their morning meal down.

As soon as her brood were finished eating their morning meal and they had taken a drink of water, Chief barked at them and they knew to follow her to the doggie door and go outside to go potty. Chief took them to the area the pups were to go potty and they did.

Mr. Ken and Collin watched how Chief had trained her family to go to one place to do their business, before they went to play. The two Covers watched the puppies play, but then Mr. Ken looked at the time and realized he still needed to get a shower and dressed and so did Collin.

By then the boys had come down to the Kitchen Nook to see if their ‘dad’ was up yet and when Phillip went to fix Chief’s fresh kibble and ice water he found that his ‘dad’ was outside with the pups, already. He told his ‘brothers’ and they went outside to see what was happening out there.

‘Dad’ Ken thanked them for coming outside and asked them to watch the pups as he and Collin went inside to get ready to go out for breakfast. He told them that the puppies had only been outside for about ten minutes, so to let them have some fun until they were ready to go.

It took Mr. Ken and Collin a good thirty minutes to get ready and when they came down to the Great Room, the boys called out to Chief to bring her puppies into the house. Chief barked some and the puppies stopped what they were doing and they came to her. The resident pet then moved towards the doggie door and the pups followed her lead and then Chief began nudging her brood to pee before they went inside. The boys all thought that it was cute to see all the pups squat and pee before going inside.

The seven Covers all loaded into the van and Billy was tasked to drive. Mr. Ken told the teenager to head towards the IHOP which was where the man like to have breakfast. On the way out the Main gate Mr. Ken had Billy stop and the man told the guard to tell the boy’s friends that they’d be back about one o’clock and that they would have the leftovers from yesterday’s picnic so for them not to get the barbeque ready.

The boys heard what their ‘dad’ told the guard, so they began texting their friends about them not being back until about one p.m. and for them not to fix the onions, tomatoes and lettuce. They would have the leftover meats, potato salad, Cole slaw and baked beans for lunch later.

As the Covers ate their breakfast, Matthew asked his ‘dad’ what did he have planned for them to do tomorrow, since it was a ‘family’ day. ‘Dad’ Ken smiled and told the pre-teen that he would just have to wait and see, but that he and his ‘brothers’ would be happy with what he was planning. The boys all smiled.

After some quiet time, Phillip spoke up and asked, “‘Dad’ … is it true that some people, at the picnic yesterday, ask … ask if they could book us, you know, book us for a gig?”

Mr. Ken smiled at the question and told the boy, “Phillip … yes … some people did ask me if your band could be booked for an upcoming event they have planned. But I told them that I would have to talk to all the parents to see if they would allow the boys to play outside The Cove.

“And Phillip, all the parents … they are meeting at The Cove next Sunday, after they drop your band members off. So, your band … they may very well know then if you would have the chance to play at a few events towards the end of October. How does that sound?”

Phillip got a big smile on his face and all his ‘brothers’ began patting him on his back. But then the big smile turned into a frown and then Phillip began to cry. Mr. Ken saw what was happening, so he asked the boy to come to him and when he did the man asked him why he was crying.

“‘Dad’ … if the band … if they get to go and play at those outside events that … that would be great, but … but I will be living with my mom by then and … and I’ll miss out on getting to play there and having that experience, ‘dad’,” cried Phillip.

All ‘dad’ Ken could do right then was hug the young Cover and tell him that all the parents have to approve first, so maybe he was celebrating too soon. Phillip said that he bets the other boy’s parents would let them play at least at one event to see how it goes.

‘Dad’ Ken hugged the boy some more and told him to think positive and that maybe if the band does get to play that either he, or Mr. Wayne, could come and get him and take him to the gig. Hearing that put a great big smile on the young Cover’s face and he hugged his ‘dad’ big time.

The Covers arrived back at The Cove around 12:45 and ‘dad’ Ken made the boys go down to the house and change into play clothes before they went up to the Pavilion and their friends.

Phillip couldn’t wait to get up to the Pavilion garage and talk to his bandmates about what his ‘dad’ told him about all of their parents meeting there next Sunday about whether or not they would let them be booked to play at some event at the end of October.

The bandmates were all excited about the possibility of getting to play somewhere else. But it was Bryce that put some wet straw on their fire when he mentioned that one of the difficult things about playing somewhere else was getting their equipment there. He told them that the guitars and amplifiers would be easy enough, but Jeff would have the hardest problem getting all of his drums and associated parts from The Cove there.

Bryce then mentioned that they only have that small PA system and he questioned if it would be big enough for where ever they would be playing. He insisted that it would be good to know where they might be playing, so they would know if their present equipment would be good enough, so they could be heard.

The boys began to speculate who would drive them to the event and how long would they be asked to play and what would they wear. But it was Preston who stopped them in their thought process when he asked them what would they call themselves. Now the boys all began to come up with names they thought would be fitting of the band.

The other Cover’s friends were skating and talking and some were out swimming in the cove. A few took the PWCs out on the lake, while Jordan was running the Sea-Doo back and forth with some boys riding the three-person water tube.

While the boys were outside with their friends, Mr. Ken was inside the house and he called Kate to tell her about the picnic. Ken told his girlfriend who was there and how the picnic went. He also told her how the puppies were the big draw and that Bill had called Wayne to come over to keep the adults away because they didn’t want to pups to be over stimulated with 300 people wanting to hold and play with them.

Ken then told Kate about Phillip’s mother not wanting to take her son back right away. Ken told her that he was going to meet with Mackenzie tomorrow at ten o’clock and that Judy Turner, the Director of CPS, would also be there as a witness and as the representative of Children’s Protective Services.

Ken told Kate that after he talks with Mackenzie that he wants her to come back to The Cove and talk to her son and tell him why she doesn’t want him back just yet. Kate wondered why she would want to do that if she was having their meeting away from the house.

Ken told her that it was his idea to have the meeting away from The Cove, because if Phillip knew his mom was there, he would be at the Study door wanting to be let in to see her and to ask her when he was going home to live with her.

Ken told his girlfriend that for the past four to six weeks Phillip has been quite obsessed with thinking about when he was going to be going home. Ken added that he had to try to keep the boy focused on his studies and to keep him focused to just wait until after the Labor Day weekend, which was when he was supposed to be going home with his mother.

Kate told Ken that Rusty had been asking her about when he would know who was his real dad. Kate said that she’d been telling him that the police had been talking to Lane and trying to get him to tell them who he might know is his father but that Lane won’t talk without being given some a special deal on his current charges.

Kate told Ken that she still was not going to charge those four men with rape as when she does her name will be ran through the mud there and the boys will be teased mercilessly and they don’t deserve that. She told Ken that somehow, someway she will find a way to learn who is Rusty’s real father and from then on, she will make sure the man and her son get to know one another.

Ken heard the determination in the woman’s voice and knew that finding Rusty’s father was important for her because her son deserved to know who his real dad was after what Lane had done to them both. He just inwardly hoped that that desire wouldn’t derail his desire to marry Kate sometime in the future.

It was around three o’clock when the boys decided to heat up yesterday’s picnic leftovers. Robert called his dad to let him know what they were going to do so he would know to come up to the Pavilion for a late lunch or early dinner.

The older boys heated the grill plates so they could heat the leftover brisket, chicken breasts and pulled pork that was left over from the picnic. The other boys brought out the potato salad, Cole slaw and the baked beans, which they also placed on the grill plates hoping they would heat up enough when it was time to eat.

The other boys set out the plates, napkins, utensils and cups and they also filled the ice machine so anyone could have a cup of ice for their cold drink while they ate their late lunch. There was going to be enough that not only were the lifeguards going to eat, that the security guards were also invited to stop by to get a plate for themselves.

While they ate, the boys talked about the picnic and how the school term was going. A few of Robert’s friends, who hadn’t applied for a job at the amusement park, told everyone that they did stop by the Marina and applied for one of the part-time jobs there and were waiting to hear back.

As the conversations continued, the Covers did remind their friends that tomorrow, Monday, was a ‘family’ day, and that they couldn’t stop by. The Covers told their friends that their ‘dad’ does that a few times a year and this was one of those times.

Charles’ friends began talking about how next summer they would be the ones looking for jobs in the area and they hoped the amusement park was still hiring. They asked Mr. Ken if the park would be expanding next year, giving them hope for a chance for a job.

Mr. Ken told the boys that he couldn’t very well tell them what he was doing there because if he did and then they told other people then he would be inundated with applications for nonexistent jobs. He just asked the boys to wait and see what was happening out at Four Corners, or maybe they could ask Charles, as he should have an inside track as to what is happening out there.

Charles quickly spoke up and told his friends not to ask him about what’s being added at Four Corners. He told them that his dad never tells them what he is doing at any of his amusement parks. He also told them that his dad won’t even let him work at Four Corners, so they have a better chance to get a job there than he does.

Dad Ken laughed at what his son just told his friends. And in his defense, Mr. Ken told the boys that because Charles goes on trips with him, he won’t let him work because no employer wants an employee, he can’t count on to be on the job, when he is always going away. The boys agreed with Mr. Ken telling Charles that he is always going on trips with his dad and ‘brothers’.

When everyone was finished eating, Mr. Ken had the boys freeze the remaining meats and throw the other items away. The man told the boys that the meats could be thawed once for sandwiches or made into salads or soups.

After all of the Cover’s friends left The Cove, Mr. Ken told the boys that he needed to feed the puppies and then let them out to play. He then told the boys that after he does that, he’ll take them out to Four Corners for a quick bite to eat at the Diner and maybe let them drive the Go-Karts.

It took the Covers an hour to get the puppies fed and to let them play outside before they asked Chief to round up her brood and take them back inside. Chief did what she usually did and got the pups to follow her and they automatically pee before they went inside. The Covers liked that the pups did that as it was a good trait for them to have for the new owners to know.

At Four Corners, the Covers did go to the Diner for a quick hamburger and fries or onion rings. Billy had to drive around some trying to find a parking space. As they ate, the parking situation was one of the items on the boy’s mind.

‘Dad’ Ken didn’t want to tell them what he had put into motion, but he did say that he did have a solution in mind and he hoped by next spring he would be able to tell them. He did tell the boys that over the winter he was going to identify parking spaces that would be for the Restaurant and Diner parking only. He added that initially he would have security enforcing the parking spaces and those who do not eat in either place would have their vehicle towed.

The boys wondered if he could get away with doing that. The boy’s ‘dad’ told them that it is all private property and he could post whichever parking rules he wanted and enforce them. He told the boys he might upset a number of people, but he has businesses to run besides the amusement park and he needs to specify parking for the restaurant and the diner.

They left the van where Billy parked it and the boys all got in line to drive the Go-Karts. Collin joined his ‘brothers’ telling them that tomorrow he would be packing his things and moving to his college house as classes began on Wednesday and he needed to buy groceries for the house. He also told his ‘brothers’ that his housemates would also be arriving and they all needed to get themselves settled and make sure the WiFi was working, as this would be a busy college year.

When the six Covers were out on the Go-Kart course, they raced like it was going to be the last one they ever drove. Even Matthew started out driving fast and hard, but his older ‘brothers’ left him in their dust and he just enjoyed driving the Go-Kart after that.

Collin did drive hard against the older boys, but since he didn’t have all the experience his ‘brothers’ had and he found himself spinning out on a curve. When the young man got back on the course, he joined Matthew and the two enjoyed riding around the course.

Billy, Robert, Charles and Phillip drove hard to try to win. There were six other drivers out on the course and they had to contend with them, as well, so there was no guarantee that one of the Coves would win the race.

Of Course, Mr. Ken had the Go-Kart manager add laps to the race, but they couldn’t add so many that it would be obvious that was what the owner was having the manager do. So, eventually Mr. Ken had the man turn the yellow light on indicating that was the last lap and when the racers crossed the Finish Line none of the Covers were the winner.

The Covers did head over to Ken’s Kreamy Kone for some ice cream before heading back to The Cove and ‘dad’s’ Ken usual meeting. They held the meeting in the Great Room, so they could all hold a puppy in their lap as they talked.

The meeting wasn’t a long one. ‘Dad’ Ken did tell the boys that he had a meeting at ten o’clock he had to attend to tomorrow, and that when he came back, he would take them out for lunch. He added that after that he would then surprise them with what he had planned for them to do during the day.

The boys tried to get their ‘dad’ to tell them what he planned for them, but the man wouldn’t budge. He told the boys that their meeting was over and he then asked the boys to let the pups go outside for a few minutes to let them empty their bladders and then have them come back inside to go to sleep.

Once the pups were back inside the coral and the boys were up in their rooms, ‘dad’ Ken went up to say goodnight to them. The man didn’t stay long with any of the boys. He told them all to sleep well and for them to be showered, dressed and ready to go to lunch when he returned at about eleven o’clock.

When Big Bro Ken saw Collin at the top of the stairs, he asked the young man to wait for him to return from his meeting before he headed to his college house. Collin said he would because he wanted to get a goodbye hug from his Big Bro to last him until he came back home for Thanksgiving. The two hugged and then they went to their own bedrooms.

The Cove was quiet the whole night through.

Ken Thomas was up at eight o’clock Monday morning as he needed to feed the puppies before he got ready for his meeting at ten o’clock. He had remembered to take the food bowls up to the Kitchen Nook the night before so the puppies didn’t know when he was bringing them their morning meal.

Collin came down to the Nook around 8:30 knowing that his Big Bro was going to be feeding the puppies and he would need help carrying the seven bowls of food down to the Great Room. Mr. Ken was happy to see the young man come into the Kitchen Nook and offer to take some of the food bowls off his hands and help him carry them down to the coral.

The puppies heard them coming and when they saw their food bowls, they got excited that they would be eating. Collin then quickly collected the water bowls and took them up to the Nook to rinse out and bring fresh water back down for the pups to have to wash their gruel down.

When the puppies had finished eating, Chief had them follow her outside to do their business and to play some. Big Bro Ken asked Collin to watch the pups, while he went and got ready for his ten o’clock meeting that he wanted to leave The Cove by 9:30 for.

The rest of the boys had already come downstairs by the time their ‘dad’ went to his retreat to get ready for the day. They said good morning to him and then they went outside to watch the puppies and to also play with them.

After he’d gotten himself ready for the day, ‘dad’ Ken stopped by the Kitchen Nook to tell the boys that he hoped to be back by eleven and then he’d take them out for Brunch and then a day of family fun. The boys said that they’d be showered, dressed and ready for when he came to get them. Matthew and Phillip then went over to him and gave him a hug, which he readily accepted.

Mr. Ken arrived at the Four Corners Diner with plenty of time to spare before his ten o’clock meeting with Mackenzie Flores. He went inside to see if he could get a corner booth where they could have a quiet conversation. Seeing there was one available, he asked the waitress to put a Reserved Sign on it to hold for him and some friends who would be arriving soon.

Mr. Ken then went outside to wait for Ms. Judy and Mackenzie to arrive. Judy Turner was the first to arrive and the two greeted one another. Ken suggested to Judy to go inside and get a cup of coffee and that he’d wait for Mackenzie and then the two of them would come in together.

Ten minutes after the time they were supposed to meet, Mackenzie and her mother, Adeline Flores, arrived at the Diner. The two walked up to Mr. Ken and it was Adeline who apologized for their being late, as she explained that she wanted to be at the meeting to give her daughter some moral support.

Mr. Ken smiled and invited the two women inside, telling them that Ms. Turner was already inside at a corner table where they should be able to have a quiet conversation. Adeline was surprised that Judy Turner was going to be at the meeting, and she asked Judy why she was there when she walked up to the corner booth.

Judy stood as the three came to the table, and hearing the question, she responded by saying, “Ms. Flores … as the CPS caseworker who placed Phillip with Mr. Thomas, it is my responsibility to attend this meeting, as it concerns one of my fosters, namely Phillip Girroads, Mackenzie’s son. And as the casework, it is necessary that I am present to represent the boy and to make a record of this meeting for his folder.

“I am also here to ensure this meeting is civil, productive, and is in the best interest of Phillip. I am also here to protect the foster parent against undocumented complaints, any untoward accusations, or false claims, and any attempts to solicit goods or money from them for any reason.”

Judy’s straight forward answer caught both Adeline and Mackenzie off guard and they looked at one another as if to say they weren’t sure that this meeting was such a good idea. The explanation even struck Mr. Ken as an ‘over the top’ justification for her being there, and after seeing the reaction on the two women’s faces, he felt it could have had a dampening effect on why they were there.

There was an awkward silence after Judy’s answer, with the four of them standing there. It was Mr. Ken who suggested that they all sit down and let Mackenzie tell him why she didn’t want to take her son back, just yet. Mr. Ken then motioned for the waitress to come over and he ordered coffee all around and some sweet rolls and butter for them.

Once the waitress walked away, Mr. Ken looked at Phillip’s mother and said, “Mackenzie … I know what you told Judy … about not wanting to take your son, Phillip, back home just yet. So … so, how about telling me why is it that you don’t want Phillip back in your life, right now.”

The direct question took Mackenzie by surprise and she didn’t answer right away. Adeline put her hand on her daughter’s arm and nodded for her to answer.

Mackenzie looked at the man, who was her son’s foster parent and said, “Mr. Ken … I … I’ve had quite some time to think … to think about what it must have been like for Philly … for him to have to be at home by himself … all those times I left him there.

“The judge … he made it clear to me that I had a responsibility to care for my son and that by leaving him alone for extended periods of time, at his age, as I had done, was not in his best interests. He essentially gave me the choice of having Philly taken away from me, or have me get some counseling and training.

“The judge … he had me attend those classes so I would understand how to manage my money better and what I needed to do to … to be a better parent. The judge … he also made me get some kind of work training, which I did in order to get my son back with me. I did everything the judge told me that I had to do, if I wanted my son back with me.”

It was then that the waitress stopped by with the four coffees and a plate of sweet rolls and butter packets just then. She heard the last part of what Mackenzie said about if she wanted to get her son back. The woman looked to Mr. Ken, as she knew who he was, and she gave a slight question with her eyes that Mr. Ken noticed. He just shook his head in a sense saying he couldn’t tell her.

After the waitress walked away, Mackenzie continued her story. “Mr. Ken … I did everything with the intent of getting my son back. But … but as I worked for the past four weeks, the money I made … it wasn’t anything that I know that I would need to make for Philly and I to make it work.

“Mr. Ken … I have the rent to pay. Then there are groceries to buy, gas for the car, and on top of all that … I’ll need to buy clothes that both of us will need. Yes, yes, I know, I know … you bought my son a ton of new clothes, so he won’t need anything new for some time. And I do really appreciate that, I really do. But he is a growing boy and eventually … eventually, he will need new clothes and, and … I still won’t have made enough money to outfit him and me, as well.

“So, I thought … I thought that I would ask … I would ask if I could keep Philly in the foster care system until … until I can get myself, you know, if I could get enough money ahead, so when my son does finally come back, I mean come home, I’ll have a good amount of money, a cushion, that I would feel good about knowing that I wouldn’t have money problems.”

Mr. Ken thought about what Mackenzie just told him, but he had a question. So, he asked her, “Mackenzie … how is it that you were able to make ends meet … before all this came about, when you weren’t working?”

Mackenzie looked at her mother to see if she should, and how she should answer. Mr. Ken saw that motion and waited.

“Mr. Ken … it wasn’t easy, other than to say, that I was able to make ends meet using the money I got from, you know, from the Texas TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and whatever odd jobs that I could get that paid in cash. So, I barely made it and my mom … she helped me at times.

“That’s why I know that if Philly …that if he comes home with me now … that it will be difficult for us and … and it won’t be fair for him … to have to suffer for what I’m not able to provide for him. Especially … mainly after all that you’ve been able to do for him.

“My new job … it does not pay me all that much. Yes, I am making more now that I was getting from all the Texas welfare system was paying me, but it still isn’t all that much. And I hope … I hope that I can use that new job as a stepping stone to something better, so that I can get ahead and be able to have enough money to manage to get my Philly back with me.

“Mr. Ken … I really appreciate that you replaced my son’s guitar. He really loved to strum on that thing in his bedroom. But after that … you went ahead and got him guitar lessons and then … and for his birthday you bought him an electric one, too. And … and it was after that he formed this band, which he is so proud of. How can he ever continue do anything like that, the guitar lessons and have a band, if he ever comes back to live with me, when I have no money to speak of?

“And the trips … the places you’ve taken him to. He’s never been out of the area before he began living with you and now … and now he’s not only flown across the country, he even gotten to sit in the pilot’s seat and fly the plane. He’s stayed in a hotel and he’s been to your amusement parks and he’s ridden on big amusement park rides that have changed him … for the better, mind you.

“Mr. Ken … my Philly … he needed a man in his life. And I’ve seen how he responds and looks up to you. He beams when he talks about you and what you’ve done for him. His good-for-nothing father … he didn’t, and still doesn’t, want anything to do with him, ever. And … what will become of my son …my Philly … when he comes back to that … that little two-bedroom apartment where he won’t have guitar lessons, because I can’t afford them, nor his band to play with every day?

“He will be going back to a place … a place where he will be relegated to the harshness of a neighborhood … a neighborhood where there are drugs and gangbangers, like Rafael Ruiz, and a school, which I am sure isn’t anywhere as good as the one I am sure he went to since he started living with you. And the friends that he’s made since living with you, I know have got to be a thousand percent much better than the ones he had where he used to live.

“Mr. Ken … it’s not that I don’t want my Philly back. I … I have to look … I am looking at what he would be coming back to and … and if I can give him anything remotely close to what he’s gotten, while living with you.

“So, Mr. Ken … I am asking you … and you Ms. Turner, if I can keep my Philly in the system until … until I can get myself ahead, so that I can properly take care of him and give him … give him a much better life than the one he had with me prior to all that has happened that put him … that put him in the system in the first place.

“Will you … will you at least consider … will you please let my Philly stay with you until … until I can get myself in a better position, monetarily wise, so that I can give us, him, a better life than he had before?” finished Mackenzie Flores, with some tears beginning to slide down her cheeks.

But before Mr. Ken could answer Mackenzie, Ms. Judy had a question for Mackenzie. “Mackenzie … how long … how long do you think it will take for you to get yourself to a point … to the point where you will have the funds … where you will be able to accumulate enough money that you feel that you can give your son, and yourself, a comfortable life?”

Mackenzie looked surprised at the question, and it showed on her face. It was as if she never figured they would ask her how long she would want them to continue keeping her son, Phillip, in the Children’s Protective Services system.

The mother sat there taken aback at the query. And knowing she had to come up with an answer, Mackenzie said that it would probably take her at least six months, but hopefully not more than nine months to get her to a financial point where she felt comfortable enough that she could take her son back into her home.

Judy Turner looked to her friend Ken Thomas to see if he had any questions for Mackenzie Flores. Ken sat there and instead of asking Mackenzie a question, he directed his question to the woman’s mother.

“Adeline … as the boy’s grandmother … what about you. Have you given a thought to your taking the boy in until such time that your daughter … that she has those same funds available to take Phillip back home?”

The question to Adeline Flores threw everyone off their thought process, and if it weren’t for the waitress coming over to refill their coffee cups, it would have been a very awkward moment, to say the least. The few moments that it took for the woman to refill the cups with fresh hot coffee, and ask if they wanted any more sweet rolls, gave Adeline a chance to formulate an answer.

So, when the waitress walked away, Adeline answered Mr. Ken by saying, “Mr. Ken … for as much as I would love to have my grandson staying with me … I’m not so sure that I could find it in my schedule that he could stay with me for that long a time.

“I do have my job that I still go to every day. And then I have my many social activities and I’m not so sure that I could handle a disruption for that long of a time. A week, or maybe a month, but nothing like six or, as long as, nine months. I’m sure both you and Ms. Turner understand.”

Ken Thomas sat there knowing all along that he wasn’t going to reject Mackenzie’s request to let Phillip remain in his home. He wanted that meeting to have the woman say out loud her reasons for her not wanting her son back right now. He wanted her to hear herself saying that she didn’t want her son back home, whether it was now or later.

Judy Turner had made abundant notes of what Mackenzie Flores had to say and why her mother, Adeline Flores, the boy’s grandmother, didn’t want her grandson to live with her. Judy wanted the information in the folder just in case there came a time that the disposition of Phillip Girroads ever came up.

The four sat in silence for a while, when Ken Thomas asked Judy Turner if she had anything she wanted to say. The Director of Children’s Protective Services, and Phillip’s caseworker, mentioned that she felt that the meeting was productive and what Mackenzie was honest in her reasons for wanting her son to remain in the CPS system.

Her question for Mr. Ken, though, was did he want to continue to remain as Phillip’s foster dad, or did he want her to find some other foster family to take the youngster in until such time that Mackenzie was financially fixed to accept her son back home.

The question caught Mackenzie off guard, as she thought Mr. Ken would automatically continue as Phillip’s foster dad. So, she asked why Ms. Turner would want to change who was Phillip’s foster parent at this stage, after he’d been with the man for the last five months, or so, and that they’ve already bonded.

Judy Turner told Mackenzie that it wasn’t unusual for a foster child to be move multiple times during their stay in the system, until they were ready to go back to their family, or were given up for adoption and were being placed in their forever family home.

Mackenzie never consider that would happen when she opted to leave her son in the CPS system. She figured Phillip would stay with Mr. Ken and continue to get the best of everything and have the kind of life that she could never give him. But now that could be all thrown away, and her son could be placed in a home that wasn’t any better than what she was providing for him.

Mr. Ken saw the distraught look in Mackenzie’s face after what Judy had just said. So, he spoke up and told the Director of CPS that he was ready to keep Phillip in his home. He told Judy that there was no reason to move the boy after he has been accepted by his ‘brothers and that he has so many friends at school.

Hearing the man say what he did made Mackenzie feel relieved inside. Her hopes that her son would continue to have what she could never give him would be forthcoming for the time being.

Adeline then spoke up and asked that if Mr. Ken was in agreement to continue to foster Phillip, if there was anything else that they needed to do to leave Phillip where he was.

Ms. Judy asked Mr. Ken if he was sure he would continue to foster Phillip and when he agreed that he would, Ms. Turner said that she would make a note to that effect and that was all she needed.

But Mr. Ken said that he had something that he wanted Mackenzie to do for him and Phillip. Mackenzie quickly asked him what that was.

“Mackenzie … I want you … to come back to The Cove with me … and talk to your son and tell him why …why he isn’t coming back home with you just yet. … For the last four to six weeks … all your son has thought about is when …is when he would be going home to live with his mom.

“So … so, I want you to come home with me to explain it to him … to explain to him why … why you have asked that he stay with me for the next six to nine months. Mackenzie … your son … he needs to know from his mother … why she made this decision, so he understands it. So … so when his ‘brothers’ … when his friends … when they ask him why he didn’t go home after Labor Day, as he’d been telling them he can explain it to them.”

The saga of Three Finger Cove continues. Let Chowhound know you are reading his story: Chowhnd at Gmail dot Com

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