Published: 6 Apr 2023

From The Previous Chapter:

Bill said he’d do that, and then he asked his foster dad what kind of test he was going to give him tomorrow. Mr. Ken laughed, and told the teenager that he created a backup course for Collin and Ryan and they could eventually back the Taurus up by only using the side view mirrors. He then told the teen how he taught Collin how to back the car up with the WaveRunner trailer attached.

Bill asked if he would have to back the car up with the trailer attached. Mr. Ken said he wouldn’t, but he would eventually want to teach him how to do that because it is an important task to know and as he got older just knowing the principle behind it would help him.

Before long, the owner of The Cove talked to all of his ‘boys’ and then he finally got to bed. The Cove was quiet the entire night.

At breakfast the following morning, ‘dad’ Ken reminded Phillip he would come by the school around 9 a.m. to pick him up to take him to get his physical, and for him to be ready to go. Phillip just smiled back at his foster dad and went back to eating his breakfast.

When Billy came down for breakfast, he asked Mr. Ken what sort of driving test he had planned for him later. Mr. Ken smiled and told the teenager that he would have him back the Taurus up. Billy said that would be easy.

Then Mr. Ken asked the teen if he’d seen all those traffic cones out in the garage. When the teen said he had, the foster dad told him that he would set them out in a slalom like course and have his foster son back up through them.

Billy thought about that for a few moments and then he went back to eating. Robert whispered to his ‘brother’ and asked him what that meant. Billy told the other teen that he thought he’d have to back the car up between the traffic cones without hitting them.

Mr. Ken heard the light exchange between the teens and then laughed to himself knowing that if Bill hadn’t ever practiced doing that it would be an interesting test of the teens ability to handle a difficult situation under stress. The stress being his foster dad being in the car with him. The man then inwardly laughed some more.

At the school, Westin asked Phillip if he found out if he could come over to The Cove on Saturday. The Cover told his new friend he wouldn’t know until later in the day, but he would be at his physical and he wouldn’t be able to tell him until tomorrow. Westin was disappointed, but Preston and Bryson told him they never heard of anybody being denied from being invited to The Cove. That brightened up the boy’s spirits.

Mr. Ken knew that going into the office would be pointless as he’d no sooner get there than he’d have to leave to go to the school to pick Phillip up, to take him to see Doctor Powers. So, the man decided to go to his Study and handle any pressing problems from there.

While the owner of The Cove was on the phone with his executive secretary, Rosemary Martin, Wayne Mitchell, his Estate Master, and Chris Dominions, his Estate Manager, came into the Study to talk to him. The Man told Rosemary what he wanted done while he was gone, and that she could call him if there were any problems, but that he would be tied up all day with Phillip, and it would have to wait until tomorrow.

With their employer at The Cove that morning, the two employees wanted to take advantage of his availability and talk to him one-on-one verses over the phone. The men wanted to clarify, confirm and plan some upcoming events and get final approval on purchases for the Memorial Day Picnic, and the summer trip to the amusement parks.

When their meeting was over, Mr. Ken and Wayne talked about what Mr. Ken was going to talk to Dennis about later that afternoon concerning the part-time employee’s unease over the foster boys’ involvement with people who might bring mayhem or worse to The Cove and thus to him by default.

Mr. Ken reminded his Estate Master he didn’t want to go through another summer without having an extra employee around to help with the driving duties and filling in where needed. The owner of The Cove added he would do his best to try to convince Dennis to stay on the job. He also mentioned that if Dennis planned to leave, he would ask him to remain until he could hire someone to replace him.

Looking at the time, Mr. Ken told Wayne he needed to get a move on, get to the school and pick Phillip up to take him for his physical.

Mr. Ken arrived a little before 9 a.m., went into the school and asked the secretary, Liliana Dillows, if she would call Phillip Girroads to the office, so he could take him to his doctor appointment. When the new Cover came to the office, he saw his foster dad talking to the acting Principal and the two men were laughing. Phillip saw that his foster dad knew lots of people and they always seemed to be laughing over something.

“Well, Phillip, the day has arrived,” said Mr. Ken, as the two Covers were driving over to the doctor’s office.

“What day?” asked the boy.

“The day for your physical,” chuckled the man.

“Oh,” was all the new Cover said.

Mr. Ken could tell the boy wasn’t too enthused about having this physical, so he decided to try to get him to talk to him.

“So … you talked to your ‘brothers’ about this physical, did you?” chuckled Mr. Ken.

Phillip looked over to his foster dad with a question on his face.

Mr. Ken saw the look and quickly asked, “So, what did your ‘brothers’ tell you would happen?”

“They … they told me … he … he would look at my … my boy … my boy parts,” the boy finally got out.

“Oh, well, yes … he will check you all over. That’s to make sure you are a healthy eleven-year-old and are growing as you should be and that, ahh that part, is a very important part of a young boy’s growth. Wouldn’t you say?” finished the man with a smile.

Phillip saw the smile on his foster dad’s face, and he smiled back at him, and he said, “Yea, I guess so.”

“Ahh, come on now, Phillip … I was your age, once, and I know how important, those boy parts were to me. So, what else did your ‘brothers’ tell you about what the doctor is going to do?” asked Mr. Ken.

Phillip didn’t say anything for a while, then he said, “Well … they told me he’d … he’d make me drop my shorts and underwear and then … and then he’ll … he’ll touch my … my … you know … my boy parts.”

“Well, how else could he check them unless he had you drop you drawers?” replied Mr. Ken, with a smile trying to make light of that part of the physical.

“But … does he really have to touch them?” immediately shot back Phillip, with a scowl.

“Phillip it will be done and over with before you know it. Look, we’re here. The morning will be taken up by the nurses and techs taking all sorts of measurements. Then we’ll get some lunch and after that we’ll come back here for the rest of the exam and then it will be all over,” offered Mr. Ken.

Once inside the office, the receptionist gave Mr. Ken some office and insurance papers to fill out. Once they were, the first phase of the physical examination began. Phill first had his body temperature, blood pressure and heart rate taken and recorded. The nurses then took a few vials of blood.

“Mr. Ken … why did they take so much blood?” asked Phillip, as he rubbed his arm where the bandage and elastic band was just put on so the area wouldn’t bleed.

“Well, they are doing a complete health check of you, so they need lots of blood. They’ doing a CBC, or a Complete Blood Count, a BMP, or a Basic Metabolic Panel and a CMP, or a Comprehensive Metabolic Panel. All three of these blood tests will give Doctor Powers a good general health status of you, as well as screen for any disorders you may have and evaluate your nutritional status. You did say your mom didn’t feed you well,” explained the foster dad.

“But why … why so many tests?” asked the curious boy.

“Well, Phillip, if I remember correctly, they’ll check your glucose, sodium, potassium, calcium, chloride, carbon dioxide, blood urea nitrogen and creatinine which can help determine blood sugar levels, electrolytes and fluid balance as well as kidney and liver function.

“All of these tests will give Doctor Powers important information about the current status of your body’s metabolism to include your blood sugar levels, to make sure you aren’t diabetic and the health of your kidneys and liver. These tests will also help diagnose conditions such as anemia, leukemia and any underlying infections,” offered Mr. Ken.

The nurse waited until the man was finished explaining to the boy what all the blood tests were for. Then, when she felt he was done, she gave the boy a small cup and asked him to go into the bathroom and fill it to at least halfway and then place it on the turn table in the wall, and then to turn it so the cup was on the other side.

The boy looked to his foster dad with a big question in his eyes. Mr. Ken told him to go into the bathroom and drain his dragon into the cup and when it was at least half full, but not to over fill it to then finish in the toilet bowl. The boy smiled at the explanation and went into the bathroom and did what the nurse had asked.

When the boy came out of the bathroom, he had a question and Mr. Ken could see it in his face.

“Mr. Ken, why did I have to do that?” asked Phillip.

“Well, Phillip, just like the blood tests, the urinalysis is a set of screening tests that can detect some common diseases, help diagnose a urinary tract infection, any kidney disorders, liver problems, and again help determine if you have diabetes or other metabolic conditions. All these things help Doctor Powers know what your physical health is.

With those two main items now done, the nurse took his height and weight, did an eye exam and then put him into a hearing exam room to check how well he could hear. The next thing Phillip had to do was a skeletal survey, or a series of x-rays of his entire skeleton. Mr. Ken explained it was performed to investigate known or suspected physical abuse in children, to look for congenital abnormalities of the skeleton, or to look for bone disease, such as cancer.

Once all the morning physical screening items were done, it was time for the two Covers to head out for lunch.

During lunch, Phillip was very quiet. Mr. Ken had to ask him questions in order to engage him in conversation. Finally, Mr. Ken asked the boy directly, “Phillip … why are you being so quiet and not wanting to talk with me?”

Phillip sat there eating and looking down. He knew he needed to talk to his foster dad. The man had done so much for him ever since he was brought to live with him. He bought him all those new clothes, introduced him to two friends, bought him a very expensive skateboard, and most of all protected him from Rafael. But right then, he just didn’t feel everything that he was having to do was necessary. He just didn’t know how to tell him that.

“Phillip,” began Mr. Ken, “What … what’s going on inside of you? What … are you thinking?”

Phillip put down his hamburger and looked up at his foster dad. He thought about what he was going to say and then said it. “Mr. Ken … I just … I just didn’t think I needed to do all of what we did this morning. I didn’t see the need for it. I feel good. I’ve never been sick.

“And … and look how long it’s taking to see if Westin can come over on Saturday. Then there’s my mom. I’m worried about her. If I had been home last weekend, they … they wouldn’t have beat her and … and she wouldn’t be in the hospital right now,” almost yelled the boy, who then began to cry.

Mr. Ken went around the table and sat next to Phillip and hugged the boy who leaned into him and cried. The boy then wrapped his arms around the man and cried some more.

It took Mr. Ken a good three minutes to get Phillip to settle down after the boy began crying. The man was happy Doctor Jennings was coming to dinner later that evening, as his foster son had so much happen to him in the past week, that the boy needed someone he could talk with about everything that happened and also about what was boiling inside of him.

After Mr. Ken went back to his seat, he told the boy he’d call the hospital to find out about his mom. After talking to the nurse on the ICU ward, he told Phillip his mother did come out of her coma and they were now performing some tests. He told the boy they asked them not to visit her today, but to wait until tomorrow when she had a chance to get her bearings back and get through all her tests.

Then, as the two Covers were talking, Mr. Ken’s cell phone rang. When he hung up, he smiled at Phillip and told him that Westin can come over on Saturday and that he can continue to come over, if he helps when asked, and doesn’t cause any trouble. The boy lamented that he wasn’t at school, so he could tell him. Mr. Ken smiled and told the boy to finish his drink as they needed to get back to the doctor’s office.

At the high school during lunch, Billy told his friends that his foster dad was going to give him some sort of driving test after school. The Cover’s friends laughed at him, especially after he told them he was ready to take the driver’s test to get his Provisional License. But when he told them Mr. Ken had planned some sort of test to see how well he can drive the Taurus backwards, they all laughed even louder.

Billy continued and told them that Mr. Ken has all these traffic cones, that he was going to create this slalom course with, that he’ll have to back the car through. He explained that when his foster dad had his first foster teen who wanted his driver’s license, he made up this course for the teen to use and now he was going to have to show how well he could back up the car he’d been using to learn how to drive in. He added that he never knew about this slalom course and now he was expected to show how good he was.

Brett, Lonnie, Gabe and Jamie laughingly told Billy he better wish for a miracle by the time he gets home, or he might not get his provisional license when he turns sixteen. Gus, the German exchange student, didn’t understand what that exchange was all about. So, Lonnie explained the convoluted process they had to go through in order for them to get a Texas Driver’s license.

Gus then told his American friends that they were lucky because in Germany the minimum age to obtain a driving license was 16 years of age and that was only for a restricted motorcycle up to 125 cc, and if he wanted to drive a car, he had to be 17 years old, but he had to have a legal guardian with him. Gus also told his American friends that his parents weren’t allowed to teach him, but he had to pay a privately owned, for-profit driving school and he had to learn on a five-speed transmission.

Gus added that he could take the driver’s test in a car with an automatic transmission but when he passes, a code or note will be added to the license and he would only be permitted drive cars with an automatic transmission. So, he would be better off learning on a manual transmission car which gives him a qualification to drive either manual or automatic.

Billy, Brett, Lonnie, Gabe and Jamie were all thankful they didn’t have to learn on a manual transmission vehicle as automatic transmission cars were the norm in America, and after they got their driver’s license, they could always learn to drive the manual transmission and they didn’t need to take another driver’s test.

Once Mr. Ken and Phillip returned to Doctor Power’s office, they took a seat in the waiting room until it was their turn to go to the examination room where Doctor Richard ‘Rick’ Powers would do the final ‘hands-on’ portion of Phillip’s physical.

When it was their turn, the nurse took the man and boy back to an examination room. She asked Phillip to take his shoes off and sit on the exam table and then told him the doctor would be in to see him very soon.

“Do I really need to do this, Mr. Ken?” asked a pleading Phillip.

“Yes, Phillip, I’m afraid you do. All of the boys … they’ve had this physical. It is necessary for me to know what, if any, medical problems you may have, so I know what treatments you might need. It is to protect both you and me, son!” replied Mr. Ken.

“But … I’ve never been sick,” argued back the boy.

“Then, this will tell us if there are any underlying problems. It is almost over. Doctor Rick will be in soon,” finished Mr. Ken.

Just then the door opened and in walked Doctor Powers. Mr. Ken stood up and shook the doctor’s hand and the two men exchanged pleasantries.

“Doc, I want you to meet my newest Cover, Phillip. He came to me last week and he’ll be eleven next month. And we are here for his intake physical, as all the other boys have when they’ve come to me. He’s not too enthused about being here, Doc, so please be gentle,” chuckled the foster dad and owner of The Cove.

“Hello, Phillip, I’m Doctor Powers. Mr. Ken, over there, and the boys call me Doctor Rick. They’ve all come here for their physicals, right after they came to live with Mr. Ken. How about you take your shirt off, so I can listen to your heart. Could you do that for me?” asked Doctor Rick.

Phillip slowly took his shirt off, and when he did, Doctor Powers put his stethoscope to the boy’s back and had the boy take some deep breaths. He wanted to listen to the boy’s lungs. When he finished listening to the lungs the doctor then listened to the boy’s heart.

From there the doctor looked into the boy’s mouth, then he checked the boy’s ears and finally his eyes. Doctor Powers then did a simple reflex check on each knee while the boy’s legs were still hanging over the edge of the exam table. Once that was done, Doctor Rick had Phillip lie back on the table so he could listen to the boy’s stomach and intestines.

“OK, Phillip, let me explain what I am going to do next. And this will be the last part of your physical exam,” began Doctor Powers.

“I’ll have you jump down off the table and turn facing the wall. Then, I want you to drop your shorts and underwear. Once you do that, I am going to check your testicles and penis. I do the first to make sure you don’t have any lumps or bumps on the small orbs, or they aren’t too sensitive. Then, I’ll have you turn your head and cough in order to check you for a hernia.

“Then, I’ll also look at your penis to see that it is normal and there are no cysts, growths or other abnormalities. Most boys your age won’t tell their moms or dads if they do have something wrong down there, because it is embarrassing to talk to them about it. That is why going to the doctor and having him do it is best, as he can talk to the parents easier. You ready?”

Phillip just nodded his head and with that Doctor Rick told the boy to jump down and the last part of the physical examination started. As soon as Phillip got off the table, he dropped his shorts and underwear. The doctor then checked his testicles and had him cough and then he did a quick check of the boy’s penis and when that was all done Doctor Rick told the boy to get dressed.

As the boy got dressed, the two men talked. “Ken, I see by the exam reports that the boy had some difficulty doing our simple eye exam, so might I suggest he get an eye exam from a good Ophthalmologist, or Optometrist. Either one can do the job. They can tell you if he needs glasses and if he does, they can give you a prescription right then.

“As for the rest of the exam, I should have the blood and urine test results at the beginning of next week. I’ll call you right away if there is anything that needs to be quickly addressed, otherwise, I’ll just mail you with what I found,” offered Rick Powers, M.D. The two men then shook hands and Mr. Ken and Phillip headed home.

On the way home, Mr. Ken stopped at their favorite ice cream store, as he usually did when the boys had their physicals, so they could have a cold treat and talk some. Mr. Ken told the boy to get anything he wanted. Phillip thought about getting a banana split, but decided on a medium Choco Dipped Strawberry Blizzard that consisted of real strawberry topping and chocolate chunks blended with creamy vanilla soft serve.

Mr. Ken was surprised at the selection. He never remembered any of the boys ever getting a Blizzard. He figured that was because they always decided to get the banana split. He then decided to get a Blizzard, as well, and he chose Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups blended with creamy vanilla soft serve. It was simply called a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard.

The two sat inside the store and slowly ate their concoction, neither one of them saying a thing. Mr. Ken knew he needed to start the conversation, so he asked Phillip what he thought of the physical he just had. The boy took a spoonful of the blizzard, so he wouldn’t have to answer right away, but knew he would eventually have to.

After he swallowed, Phillip started. “Mr. Ken … as I said before … I didn’t think I needed that physical. But now that it is over … it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. I sure didn’t like the doctor, looking at my you know … my boy parts, as my ‘brothers’ call them. I did see that you were looking away. Can I ask you why you did that?”

“Well, Phillip … I knew that Doctor Rick would be checking your … ‘boy parts’ and … well, I didn’t want to embarrass you any more than you were by my watching. Also, I might be your foster dad, but I don’t need to see your … your ‘boy parts’, which was why I looked away. I did that for all the boys.

“So, did you hear what Doctor Rick told me?” asked Mr. Ken.

“No, not really,” answered the young Cover.

“Well, he wants me to have your eyes examined by a professional. He thinks you might need glasses. Do you ever find yourself blinking more or squinting to try to see things further away or even closer to you better? Well, anyway, I’m going to take you to have our eyes checked to see if you need glasses. When we get home, I’ll have Mr. Chris set that up for after school. Probably on Friday,” explained the foster dad.

When the two Covers returned to The Cove, Mr. Ken had Phillip help him with the traffic cones and they put them in one of the golf carts. They set them out on the main driveway so the man could give Bill his backing up driving test when the teen returned home from school later.

Mr. Ken then sent the boy in to see if Momma would give him his after-school snack. In the meantime, he looked for Mr. Dennis, as he wanted to talk to the man regarding his concerns about the situation Rafael and his cohorts could bring to The Cove.

The two men sat in the leather chairs opposite one another in the Study. There, Mr. Ken addressed Dennis Florkert’s concerns about what happened the other night when Rafael had two of his cohorts follow them and the potential for trouble being brought to The Cove if Rafael ever found out that was where Phillip now lived.

“Dennis, Wayne tells me that you have some concerns about the possibility of trouble that this Rafael fellow could bring, if he ever finds out that Phillip is now living here at The Cove. He also tells me that … that you weren’t too happy over the fact that you were being followed by some of Rafael’s men and … and if it weren’t for Lt. Fischer being able to head them off you were concerned that they might force you off the road,” began Mr. Ken, Dennis’ employer.

Without hesitation, Mr. Florkert answered, “Yes, that is all true. I wasn’t too keen on going with Wayne in the first place, but I knew what he said rang true about you being too well-known.

“And … well, I knew it also was the right thing to do, at the time. I never figured those men would ever follow us back here. After serving my military time, and coming away unscathed, I don’t relish the fact of being injured or killed here at home, Mr. Ken.”

“Dennis … when the boys come to me … I hope you understand that I have no idea of what troubles will come with them,” offered the man’s employer.

“I understand that. I know you can’t pick and choose which child you get to foster. But when you look back at all the things that have happened … like the house being attacked in order to kill Collin, then that man, ‘Smokey’, finding Charles here and coming back and holding a knife to his throat and threatening to kill him if he can’t get away. Then there were those men … who tried to kidnap the twins who were out Trick-or-Treating, along with your son Robert and all those other boys … and now this,” replied Mr. Dennis.

“It is true that I don’t get to pick and choose which boy I get to foster. Ms. Turner … she calls and asks me if I am ready to take on another needy boy. She gives me some background on the boy, and then I turn around and ask the boys if they are ready to help with another boy, like themselves, who needs a better place to live, and then I take the new foster son on. But no matter what troubles they may bring with them, I will defend the boy no matter what it takes,” explained Mr. Ken.

“Like taking a bullet meant for Collin?” shot back Dennis Florkert.

“Yes, if that is what it takes to defend the boy in order to give him a good and safe home where he can live and grow up, I am ready to take that bullet. But going in, we don’t know what challenges the boy will bring with him. As for Phillip, we had no idea about this Rafael character until Sunday morning when Phillip told us about him.

“From there it morphed into what happened Monday night. As for the other things you mentioned, they were all individual occurrences that happened over a long period of time. It wasn’t as if they happened month after month.

“Anyway, Dennis, what I am asking you is … is to think about you staying with us. You’ve blended in very well with us. The boys have accepted you and you even went with us on our Holiday trip to my amusement parks. I would really hate to lose you after all this time,” counseled Ken Thomas.

Dennis Florkert sat there thinking for a few moments. Then he answered, “Mr. Ken … you’ve been a good, generous and considerate employer and I understand your need for someone, such as me, to work only part-time, here at The Cove.

“I never expected to be placed in such a precarious situation, though, as I was the other night, when I accepted the position. But … well, and I bet you do understand, that I do have to consider my own welfare, and that I do not want to be put in harm’s way, if it can be prevented.

“As to your question … I will stay on as long … as long as I don’t see there are any other threats that I could find myself involved in where I could get … hurt. If another situation does arise, I will, I am sorry to say, I will have to submit my resignation. I will stay on though, until you can find a replacement, if that becomes the case.

“I have enjoyed working here. The position did fit in with what I was looking for in a part-time role. It was also more than I bargained for, with all the parties and the trip that we went on. At first, I didn’t think I would get along with all the boys, but they … all the boys, they made my working here a pleasure. They were kind, understanding and very helpful in orienting me to the way of The Cove,” finished Mr. Dennis.

“Thank you, Dennis, for your thoughts and your decision to stay with us. And, I do hope we won’t have any other incidents that will give you a reason to want to move on. For now, Phillip’s situation is very fluid, with his mom in the hospital, and us not knowing how long he will be with us.

“I am sorry to say … we still don’t have a final answer on Rafael. He seems to want to get to Phillip for some reason, so we could see him show himself again. Let’s hope he doesn’t learn where the boy is staying,” finished up Mr. Ken. And, after a handshake with Mr. Dennis, the employee left for the day.

Mr. Ken talked with Wayne about his conversation with Dennis. He told him that if Rafael shows up and causes a problem, they very well may have to find someone to take Dennis’s position, as the part-time employee had indicated he does not want to get hurt while doing his job. So, Mr. Ken told his Estate Master for him and Chris to be ready to run another ad looking to hire another part-time employee.

Mr. Ken then got with Chris about finding a good Optometrist for him to take Phillip to on Friday after school. The owner of The Cove explained the reason for the appointment and that he wanted to find out right away, if the boy needed glasses, and not dawdle especially if the boy had vision problems. Mr. Chris said he’d do that first thing in the morning. The Estate Manager then left for the day.

When Billy came home from school, as soon as he entered the estate, he saw the traffic cones all set out and he knew Mr. Ken wasn’t kidding about giving him some sort of driving test, when he got home from school.

Billy and Robert went to the Kitchen Nook to get their after-school snack, but the older teen didn’t eat much, as he was thinking about what sort of backing up driving test he was in for, when he and his foster dad went outside.

Mr. Ken came looking for Bill in the Kitchen Nook and upon finding him told the teenager to get the Taurus out of the garage and he would meet him out in the Parking Coral. Billy got the keys off the hook, where they were kept, backed the car out of the garage and waited for Mr. Ken to get into the passenger seat.

“Bill, I want you to drive out and go to the top of the driveway. From there, I want you to begin backing the car up through the traffic cones all the way to the bottom of the drive. Think you can do that?” asked the foster dad with a smile.

“Mr. Ken, I’ve never backed up that far before, but I’ll give it a try,” replied Billy.

Billy drove out of the Parking Coral and to the top of the driveway. The teen stopped the Taurus, put the vehicle in reverse and then he looked over his shoulder and began backing the vehicle through the traffic cone slalom course.

The new driver made it through the first two traffic cones without much trouble, but his cockiness got the better of him at the third cone and he went off course and ran over it. Mr. Ken inwardly laughed and told the teen to drive forward, reset and try it again.

Billy apologized and did what he was asked. The teen again got through the next two traffic cones, but he again went too fast and ran over the next cone. Mr. Ken told Bill to go steady and not to hurry as they had all night. Billy eventually made it through to the bottom of the driveway and then relaxed.

“Bill … anybody can make a car go forward. It’s when it comes to backing it up that they don’t fully understand how difficult it is because they don’t practice it. What I want you to do, when you come home from school, and don’t have too much homework, is to come out here and set up the cones and practice backing up.

“What we did today was way out of the ordinary with the slalom of going right and then left, but it gave me an idea of how well you understand your hand-eye-mind coordination to control the car. When you come out here just practice backing up straight through the cones, OK?

“Start them wide apart and as you get used to it then bring them in closer together. Then, I want you to try to use just the side view mirrors. Sometimes, you might have something blocking your rearview mirrors, so knowing to trust the side-view mirror will help you tremendously. There is no need to rush this. You did good, by the way, for your first time,” praised Mr. Ken, as the two Covers headed back to the garage to park the car.

It was Wednesday, and Doctor Douglas Jennings had been invited to dinner. He was also invited over to meet his new patient, Phillip Girroads, and talk to the boy some before dinner, and afterwards. The doctor had been invited over many times before to meet Mr. Ken’s new charges, so the two could meet in a non-threatening way and get comfortable with one another.

“Phillip, I want you to meet Doctor Doug Jennings. He’s the man I told you about that all of your ‘brothers’ have sat down and talked over their problems with him. He is a good listener, and the best part is he won’t ever tell me anything you two talk about, that is unless you tell him it is OK to do so. I want you to sit with him in my Study before dinner and just talk with him and get to know him and when Momma has dinner ready, we’ll come and get you both.

Phillip and Doctor Doug went into the Study and closed the door. They each took a soft leather chair and sat down. The boy was a bit apprehensive at first and Doctor Doug was used to that, so he made small talk about where Phillip used to live and about his mom. Talking about his mom got the boy to open up.

Learning that his mom had been attacked, just last weekend, and was in the hospital also got the boy to tell the doctor about Rafael and the gun. The doctor knew he needed to talk to the police about the gun and was relieved to know that Lt. Fischer had been brought into the equation that previous Sunday and now he didn’t have to make the report.

The forty minutes went faster than both doctor and patient had thought and both were surprised when Mr. Ken came to the Study to tell them that dinner was ready.

Dinner was a lively affair. It had been quite some time since Doctor Jennings had been at The Cove for dinner, so he got caught up on everything that was going on there, and in the boy’s lives. He was surprised to learn they would be working on 1000 Easter eggs that Saturday and then setting them out the following Saturday at the Annual Easter Egg Roll.

After dinner, Phillip eagerly sat down with Doctor Doug for a few minutes more to finish up their talk. Mr. Ken was happy to learn the boy felt comfortable talking with Doctor Jennings and hoped that this would be a turning point in the boy’s life to get him more focused on his future.

Mr. Ken, Phillip and the boys ‘brothers’, all saw Doctor Jennings off as he left The Cove. Mr. Ken then pulled Phillip aside and reminded him that he could invite Westin over on Saturday. He then told him he could tell him tomorrow at school, or he could call him tonight and tell him now. The man gave the boy the choice. Phillip said he wanted to call his friend tonight.

“Hello, Westin?” asked Phillip, when someone answered the phone.

It wasn’t Westin, who answered the phone, so Phillip had to explain who he was and why he was calling. After a few minutes of explanation, Westin did come to the phone. Phillip eagerly told his new friend that Mr. Ken just told him he could invite him over on Saturday and he could help them with the 1000 Easter eggs. When the two boys finished talking, Phillip gave the phone to Mr. Ken as Mr. Neezeman, Westin’s dad, Jaxon, wanted to talk to him.

Mr. Ken explained to Jaxon that his son would be joining his classmates, Bryson and Preston, along with his other sons and foster sons and their thirty friends, or so, getting one thousand plastic Easter eggs ready for his Annual Easter Egg Roll scheduled for the following weekend.

The two men talked about what else Westin would be allowed to do and Mr. Ken told the father to let his son bring his skateboard, swimsuit and towel and if they have time, he’d get to use his skateboard and maybe swim, but on Sunday he should get to do both.

Mr. Ken then explained that Westin would then be allowed to come over every day Phillip is there, if he helps when asked and he doesn’t cause any trouble. Jaxon Neezeman thanked Ken Thomas for the conversation and thanked him for allowing his son to come over to The Cove.

During the discussion in the Study that evening, Mr. Ken reminded the boys that he and Mr. Chris would be going over to Blessed Waters Academy Catholic High School tomorrow for the groundbreaking ceremony of the building he was donating to the school for their vocational training students.

Mr. Ken then covered what they and their friends would do on Saturday with the one thousand plastic Easter eggs and then he reminded them he needed them and their friends to be there by 10 a.m. the following Saturday to set out the Easter Eggs before the Easter Egg Roll. ‘Dad’ Ken also reminded the boys that Easter Sunday would be a ‘Family Day’ and there would be no friends over that day.

Mr. Ken added to the list of things he wanted the boys to be aware of, the Memorial Day Picnic, their trip to visit his amusement parks after school was over and the 4^th of July Carnival. He then asked the boys if they had anything they wanted to ask about.

Phillip quickly spoke up and asked if he would get to visit his mom tomorrow. Foster dad Mr. Ken said he would call the doctor tomorrow and if they could, he would be there when the boy got home from school. That put a big smile on the boy’s face. The boy also asked if he could take sailing lessons if he was still living there when school was out. Mr. Ken told the newest Cover he would put Mr. Chris on that question and to give them a few days to get the answer to him.

Billy then asked if the trial was still scheduled. That surprised the rest of the boys. ‘Dad’ Ken told the teen that the trial for Bennett Grafflers and Weston Thrumble, the men who invaded the Goldersons home, was still on and scheduled for the beginning of May sometime.

Charles asked if Kaden was going to be on trial then, too. The boy’s dad told his son, and thus the rest of the boys that Kaden would be going to juvenile court instead. The young teen asked why, and all the teen’s dad could tell him was that it was the DA’s decision, and he would have to ask him.

Phillip didn’t know the full story about the home invasion and who Kaden was and he asked. But Billy spoke right up and told Mr. Ken he would tell his newest ‘brother’ about it since he ‘lived’ it. Hearing that confused Phillip even more and he was happy Billy would tell him because he liked having the oldest teenager as his big ‘brother’.

With the evening meeting over, the boys went up to their rooms and Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne soon followed to say goodnight to them.

Phillip was full of questions for his foster dad. The first one was when would he get the chance to talk to that doctor again. Mr. Ken told the boy it would be next Tuesday afternoon. Phillip smiled at hearing that. Mr. Ken asked his foster son if he felt that talking to Doctor Doug would help him figure things out. Phillip said he already had and that was why he wanted to continue to talk to him. Mr. Ken gave the boy a hug and told him not to forget to drain his dragon before going to bed, and then went on to talk to the other boys.

When Mr. Ken talked to Billy, he wanted to make sure the teenager was OK in telling Phillip about what happened when he lived with the Goldersons. Billy told his foster dad that he’ll be asked all about it at the trial, and he felt the more he can talk about it now, the easier it will be for him to answer the lawyer’s questions.

Plus, the teenager told Mr. Ken he thought that Phillip needed to know about some of the ‘secrets’ they are always talking about there at The Cove, so he didn’t feel so out of place. Mr. Ken told the teen that it was up to him to let the boy know about his involvement in that bad time in his life. Billy said he would be OK with it.

Before long, Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne said goodnight to one another, and The Cove was quiet for the night.

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

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