Published: 13 Apr 2023

From The Previous Chapter:

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.

Ken Thomas could tell Phillip was in a good mood Thursday morning. He had a big smile on his face when he came into the Kitchen Nook that morning and he eagerly took care of Chief’s kibble and water bowls. Even Momma Maria noticed the change in the new Cover’s demeanor.

As the boy ate, he looked over to his foster dad and said, “You won’t forget to call the doctor, now, to see if we can go over to see my mom, later?”

“No, Phillip, I won’t forget. I’ll call them around noon time and if we can go over to see your mom I’ll try to be here when you get home from school, so that way we won’t be late for dinner,” replied Mr. Ken.

Phillip smiled back at his foster dad and went back to eating.

When it was time to head out to catch the school bus, Charles told his ‘brothers’ to use the bathroom and meet him at the Foyer Door. Five minutes later, the three boys exited the house and headed up the rise to catch the bus.

When the two high school teens came down for breakfast, ‘dad’ Ken could tell there was something on his son’s mind, so he asked him what was bothering him.

“Dad … are you going to take Billy … are you going to take Billy to see his mom?” Robert finally got out.

The teen’s dad inwardly smiled and had wondered when the question would come up. He then answered, “Yes, son, I’m going to take him. It will probably be after Easter, though. Mr. Chris … he is researching where his mom was placed and what are the visiting hours and anything else, we need to know before going there. Once we know that, Bill and I … we’ll make plans to go and visit her. Is there any particular reason why you are asking this question, son?”

Robert squirmed in his chair, some, then he looked at his dad and asked, “Do you … do you think that I … that I could go and visit my mom, again, too?” got out the teen, with hope in his voice and on his face.

Quickly the teen’s dad answered, “Sure, there is no reason why you can’t go and visit your mom, too. We just need to decide on a date and then go. You OK with that?”

Robert smiled back at his dad and told the man, “I’ll look at the calendar, but it probably will be right away because things around The Cove will start to get busy. Memorial Day is coming up and school is almost over and then there is our trip. And dad … do you think I can maybe add some money to her prison account so she can, you know, buy the things she needs?”

“I’ll have Mr. Chris check that out as well, son. And I think that is a nice gesture on your part, son. Ahh … have you thought about ever seeing your … dad?” now asked the teen’s dad.

Robert thought about that question for a bit, then he told his dad that he’s thought about that a few times, but he just can’t bring himself to want to go and visit him just yet. The teen continued and said he has this inner conscious telling him he needs to, but he just can’t do it right now.

The teen’s dad said he totally understood and accepted his decision. The man added that he would be ready to take him any time he decides to visit his father. Robert got up from his chair and went over to his dad and hugged him.

Billy listened to the exchange and wondered what that was all about. He knew some things about Robert’s mom and dad from what he heard from around the Pavilion and from what was said during the trial the twins were involved in. He figured he’d talk to his ‘brother’ and see if he’ll tell him the full unaltered story.

At school that morning, Westin thanked Phillip for calling him last night to tell him he could come over on Saturday. That surprised Preston and Bryson and they wanted to know more. All Westin could tell them was that about seven o’clock Phillip called him to tell him he could come over. The boy then said his dad and Phillip’s ‘dad’ talked for about fifteen minutes.

“He’s my foster dad, not my ‘dad’!” abruptly spoke up Phillip. “Although Matthew … he does call him ‘dad’. But he’s lived there for more than a year and Mr. Ken … he even went out to Colorado and brought him back after his real dad … after his real dad beat on him when he wouldn’t give him his Trust Fund money.”

“Wow!” said the boys. “Matthew’s real dad … he actually did that? He beat up his son for his Trust money?” said Westin.

“You have to remember, that I’ve only lived there for about a week now, so I may have gotten some of it wrong, but from what I heard Matthew’s dad … he came and petitioned the court for custody of his son. Then, somehow, the dad learned that Matthew and his other ‘brothers’ were part of some sort of class action suit and they all got a lot of money. Then, Mr. Ken when Matthew’s dad was going to get custody of his son, he put my ‘brothers’ share into a Trust Fund for him for when he went to college.

“What I heard was that Mr. Ken … he got a phone call late one night and he flew out the next morning to try to bring Matthew back. My ‘brothers’ said it took him over a week and a special court hearing, but he did get guardianship of my ‘brother’ and now is his foster dad again,” finished the newest Cover.

Phillip’s friends asked him if he knew what the difference was between having custody and being the guardian. Phillip didn’t understand what they meant. Preston said that if Matthew’s dad had custody, why did Mr. Ken only have guardianship. Phillip said he didn’t have any idea. It was then the first bell rang.

When Mr. Ken arrived at his office, Rosemary had his messages and his coffee ready for him. He thanked her for them and went to returning the calls he felt were important. The first call was to Kate. She had called to tell him about the latest settlements of the properties he bought around his Crystal Lake Amusement Park.

He wanted to tell her about Phillip and what he had planned for the boys for Easter. He did ask her if she and the boys wanted to come to Texas for the Holiday, but she thought it was too much traveling for them over a short time. She did thank him for the invitation, though, and asked him when he had planned to come back east.

At the high school, Billy had to tell his friends what type of driving test his foster dad had him do the previous night. The Cover teen explained the slalom course to them and they all cringed. But Billy told them it wasn’t as bad as it sounded. He then told them that Mr. Ken wanted him to practice after school and to also only use the side-view mirrors, because eventually he’ll find the rearview mirror blocked by something in the back seat.

At eleven o’clock, Rosemary reminded Mr. Thomas he had the groundbreaking ceremony at twelve noon and he needed to drive over there, meet with the high school principal and other dignitaries and get the protocol of the ceremony before it happened.

Mr. Ken drove over to Blessed Waters Academy Catholic High school and met Chris Dominions there. His Estate Manager didn’t think he should be a part of the ceremony, but Mr. Ken told him that if it weren’t for him this day would not be possible. Just then Ms. Jackie came up to Chris and agreed with Mr. Ken.

The dignitaries all greeted one another and the high school principal gave them a quick rundown of how the groundbreaking ceremony was planned out. And because this was a major event, the local news media were present with their video cameras.

One news reporter who was there and was anxious to interview everyone was Rene Vaughn. She saw the group of invited guests gathered and talking about the ceremony and waited for the right time to try to interview Mr. Thomas and the Archbishop together to get their combined take on that momentous day.

When the groundbreaking ceremony began, the high school principal made a few remarks about the reason for the day and then passed the dais over to the archbishop for his remarks. The archbishop told the gathered crowd he was overwhelmed by the generosity of Ken Thomas’s gift to the school.

The archbishop added, “The vocational training aspects of the Blessed Waters Academy was sorely in need of a ‘miracle’ and I am happy to say it came in the form of a visit from one Mr. Chris Dominions, who was sent by Mr. Thomas to see if the school was worthy of competing at his Annual Christmas Decoration Competition for vocational training students.

“From the way I understand it, it was a Mr. Dominions comment to his employer, Mr. Thomas, after he had visited the high school, when he said, ‘Oh, what a few dollars could do for them’ that caused Mr. Thomas to look into donating what will soon be an 21,000 sq. ft., state-of-the-art facility for our students to now learn their new trades.

“This new building will have not only male and female restroom facilities, lockers for the student’s belongings, full heating and air conditioning, three distinct and separate instructional areas and instructor offices, it also exceeds the states standards for school buildings with its fire suppression system, fire breaks between teaching zones and flammable storage cabinets.

“What’s also praiseworthy about Mr. Thomas’ wonderful gift is … is that other local companies heard of his largess and they too … have now joined with him to outfit the structure with brand new tools, machines, lumber, pipe and electrical supplies and much, much more.

“I’ll end my long winded speech by saying that the principal, students and myself much appreciate all of their contributions to furthering the dreams of the future tradesmen and tradeswomen that hopefully would soon be out working in our community.”

With that said, the dignitaries all went over to the designated spot and grabbed a gold shovel and posed for the typical historical picture before each of them actually turned a shovel full of dirt to signify the start of construction of the new vocational training facility.

Rene Vaugh did get to talk to the archbishop after the ceremony and got him to give her some personal thoughts on what happened that day.

The archbishop immediately offered, “I can’t say enough about how Mr. Thomas stepped up, and in keeping with his focus on vocational training, saw the need here at Blessed Waters Academy and made a worthy, charitable contribution to their vocational training program.

“I know the principal and the students, as well as I, will be forever grateful to him for believing in, and ensuring, that these students, who don’t feel they are college bound, will have a tract towards a viable profession and future.”

Ms. Vaughn also talked to Ken Thomas. He told the news reporter from KBLY TV, when she asked why he donated such a large facility to the Academy, that he felt he needed to not only challenge them and honor their accomplishments, but he also needed to support them at their schools and give them the proper facilities and/or equipment they needed to succeed in their chosen profession.

There was a small reception at the Academy after the ceremony, so the dignitaries could talk to and get to know one another a bit better. It was while they were talking that Mr. Ken remembered he needed to call the hospital about Mackenzie. So, he excused himself from the person he was talking with and made the call to talk to the doctor.

After finishing his call, the archbishop came over to him and asked him if everything was alright. Mr. Ken gave the bishop a quick rundown about how Phillip’s mom was attacked just last Sunday and he needed to see if they could visit her after Phillip returned from school.

That simple explanation then required Mr. Ken’s telling the archbishop how he was the boy’s foster dad and that further evolved into his telling the man about his adopting two former foster sons and that he also had two other foster sons at his estate. The reason for all that was the archbishop was fairly new to the area and had no idea who Mr. Ken Thomas truly was and how fully involved in the community he actually was.

Before leaving the Blessed Waters Academy Catholic High School and returning home to collect Phillip to take him to the hospital to visit with his mom, he invited the Archbishop to his Memorial Day Picnic. He told the bishop about the make-up of the attendees, what he would serve and for him to bring his skateboard, swimsuit and a towel.

Mr. Ken then apologized for the last comment as he told the archbishop that it was what he tells all of his boy’s friends and parents when they are invited over and it just came out. He told the man to bring someone with him who normally travels with him and that he does offer swimming, sailing, and that he does have a brand-new Cove Skate Park and a soccer pitch. The bishop thanked Mr. Ken for the invitation and the two parted company.

Phillip was anxious when he got off the school bus. He wondered if he was going to get to visit his mom today, and he wouldn’t know until he saw if Mr. Ken was home or not. His ‘brothers’ told him to try to settle down, but Phillip asked them if their mom was ever in the hospital. Both Charles and Matthew told him that both their moms were in prison.

That shocked Phillip to no end. He vaguely remembered Charles saying something about that when he first arrived, but he had no idea that about Matthew’s mom as he hadn’t been at The Cove all that long, and he hadn’t had much time to get to know his ‘brothers’ at all. He told them he was sorry to hear that was where they were.

Charles stopped and told him that was where his mom belonged and if he ever knew the full story, he would agree, and then walked away. Matthew then told him that his mom threatened to kill him when they got back together and he was glad that she was in prison and then he walked away, too. Phillip was now thoroughly confused.

When Phillip walked into the house, he went directly to the Study to see if Mr. Ken was there. He wasn’t. The boy was disappointed. He figured his foster dad either didn’t make the call or that he wasn’t going to be able to visit with his mom that night.

But as the boy walked dejectedly back to the Kitchen Nook to get his after-school snack, Mr. Ken came into the Nook to get Phillip.

“Phillip, you ready to visit with your mom?” asked the foster dad.

“Yeah, what are we waiting for?” eagerly replied the boy.

But Momma Maria quickly spoke up and said, “Iss waitings for youse to eats yours afters schools snacks befores youse goes to sees yours moms. So, sits!”

Phillip looked to Mr. Ken to see what he should do. Mr. Ken told the boy to sit and eat his after-school snack and he would come and get him in about ten minutes.

The two Covers arrived at the ICU Ward and Phillip was surprised to see his grandmother there.

“Grandma … I’m … I’m surprised to see you here,” spoke up Phillip, as he hugged her.

“Hello, my grandson,” replied a somber grandmother, as she returned the hug.

“Grandma … what’s wrong?” asked Phillip, sensing that everything wasn’t right with his mom.

“Phil … your mom … she’s … she’s not herself,” got out the grandmother, who had to wipe her eyes as a few tears had begun to fall.

“Grandma, this is Mr. Ken. He’s my foster dad until mom … until she gets better and does what the courts says she has to do, so I can go back to living with her again,” was how the boy introduced his foster dad to his grandmother.

“Oh, hello. Mackenzie told me they had taken Phil away from her, but she didn’t know where he was. Does he have a good home?” asked the grandmother, without ever introducing herself.

Mr. Ken looked at the woman, and then told the woman, “I’d say Phillip has a good home. He has four older boys in the house, his own bedroom, a dog he takes care of and good food. So, I’d say he has a good home.”

“Well, that’s good to hear,” offered, the grandmother.

“Grandma, what’s wrong with mom?” now asked Phillip.

“Phil … I think … I think you need to see your mom for yourself and then … and then you probably need to talk to the doctor,” answered the grandmother, as a few more tears fell from her eyes.

“Mr. Ken … let’s go see my mom,” pleaded the boy, as he tugged on the man’s hand.

The two walked into the boy’s mom’s hospital room and Phillip ran to his mother and hugged her, calling out, “Mom, mom, are you OK?”

The woman just looked forward, not recognizing her son, not even reacting to the boy hugging her, or the two people in the room with her.

The nurse came into the room just then, and Mr. Ken asked her if the doctor was nearby. The nurse said he should be by in a little bit. Mr. Ken then asked the nurse what was considered wrong with Ms. Flores. The nurse told him to talk to the doctor.

When the doctor did eventually show, Mr. Ken asked him to explain to her son what he thought was wrong with his mother and what her prognosis was.

The doctor took a deep breath and told Mr. Ken and Phillip that Mackenzie was being classified as having a traumatic brain injury. He told them for now they were classifying it as mild, even though it caused her unconsciousness, though the unconsciousness was not life-threatening, but it did appear that she did have some traumatic brain injury.

Phillip asked the doctor to tell him what that meant. The doctor told the boy that for now it appeared his mother had some memory loss that they hoped would return after a day or two. The doctor also added that the woman had some difficulty with her balance, so she had some difficulty in walking.

Phillip was now crying as he heard what was wrong with his mother. Ken Thomas was hugging the boy to himself. The grandmother was just outside the room and she heard what the doctor said and she saw how the man was attending to her grandson. She also saw how her grandson readily turned to the man who was introduced as the boy’s foster dad and felt that there was some sort of connection there and that her grandson was at least being well taken care of.

When the doctor finished telling the boy and his guardian what he knew about Mackenzie Flores, Phillip asked, through his tears, “When … when will she be, OK?”

“Son … honestly … we do not know. The blow to her head … it was more severe than was originally thought. With that, we will work with your mother every day. We will give her the best care we know of. Sometimes … these issues … they resolve themselves on their own,” offered the doctor.

The doctor then left the two Covers and the grandmother walked into the room. She walked up to Mr. Ken, and said, “I’m sorry … I never introduced myself. My name is … Adeline. And … after seeing how you and my grandson are … are close … I guess he feels safe with you.

“My daughter … she told me that they … CPS and the courts … that they told her she would not get her son back until she completed some sort of parenting training and other courses. I knew they had told her she had to stop leaving her son alone at night and that if she didn’t … she’d lose her son. But no one told her she would also be attacked in her own home.

“Will I be able to see my grandson where he is staying?” asked Adeline.

Mr. Ken thought about the question and his talk with Ms. Judy and decided, for now, she couldn’t. “Ms. Flores … I’m sorry … but Children’s Protective Services … they told me that Phillip and his mother … were not to have any contact until Mackenzie had completed a certain amount of her court ordered requirements. So, until CPS says otherwise … I’m afraid I can’t allow you access to Phillip. I’m sorry.”

Adeline was taken aback by the response, but she recovered and replied, “OK, I understand. If this hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have been able to see him, so … I guess I should be happy I’m able to see him here at the hospital.”

Little did Adeline Flores know was that Ken Thomas now had to coordinate with Judy Turner as to what contact his foster son could have with his mother and or his grandmother. He knew with the boy’s mother in the hospital and under the medical condition she was in, there was no way anyone would know when, or if, she would ever recognize Phillip again.

The two Covers arrived back at The Cove just as the other Covers were sitting down to dinner, a little later than usual. Mr. Ken had called Momma to tell her they were leaving the hospital and he would get there as fast as the traffic would allow. But Momma kept the other Covers waiting an extra ten minutes in the hopes Mr. Ken and Phillip would soon be there.

Phillip was extremely quiet at dinner. His ‘brothers’ tried to engage him in conversation, but the boy was still upset over the state of his mother. Mr. Ken then asked the boys to let it be. When dinner was over, Mr. Ken pulled Phillip aside to talk to him in his Study. He closed the door so the other boys wouldn’t interrupt them.

“Phillip … your ‘brothers’ … they tried to get your mind off your mom … but you couldn’t let it go. Can you tell me what’s going on inside of you?” gently asked the foster dad.

Phillip just sat there, but the tears began to flow. Mr. Ken saw them and pulled him into his lap and the boy burst out into an out-and-out bawl. The man decided to let the boy get whatever was in his mind and system out. After about ten minutes, Mr. Ken felt the boy had stopped crying, but he also felt the boy had fallen asleep.

“Phillip … Phillip … it’s time to wake up and talk to me,” gently prodded the owner of The Cove.

“Oh … did I fall asleep?” asked the boy, as he yawned, and stretched.

“Yes, you did, and I think … I think you probably needed it after everything your mind and body have gone through this past week. Now … how about talking with me about what you learned about your mom today, and how we are going to move on from here. Will you do that with me?” asked the foster dad.

Phillip asked if he really had to. Mr. Ken told the boy they needed to begin to focus on his getting settled at The Cove, putting more effort into his studies, getting him to interact with his ‘brothers’ more, and to plan his stay there at The Cove at least through the end of school and possibly through some of the summer.

Phillip told Mr. Ken he had hoped to be back with his mom after Easter, but after seeing his mom today he knew that was now not possible. The boy now asked his foster dad what he wanted him to do.

Mr. Ken opened the Study door and asked Wayne Mitchell to come in, so he could be a part of the discussion. He explained to Phillip that the Estate Master was his right-hand man when he wasn’t there, so he needed to be in the discussion, so he knew how to handle things when he was away.

Mr. Ken asked Phillip to now consider The Cove as his new home and that he should plan to be there until at least after the 4^th of July. The man explained to the boy that that way he could stop thinking of going home to his apartment and his mom anytime soon. The foster dad also told the newest Cover he needed to be more-brotherly with his ‘brothers’ and he needed to focus on his studies.

Phillip asked his foster dad if that meant he should ask Charles and Matthew to tell him why their moms are in prison. The question surprised Mr. Ken, so he asked him how he knew that. Phillip told his foster dad that they both told him today when he asked them if their mom was ever in the hospital. The boy then asked if it was true that their moms were in prison.

“Phillip … it sounds like you weren’t being very brotherly and … and they must have gotten upset at you for some reason and they told you that. I’m not going to tell you if what they said is true or not. It will give you a reason to sit down and talk to them and to get to know them better. You’re going to be here for at least three more months, so it would be best on your part to get to know them,” suggested the boy’s foster dad.

“You mean like what Billy is going to tell me about the trial he is going to have to be at and … and some boy named Kaden?” asked Phillip.

“Yes, that is something else you might want to know about, so if Bill asks you if you want to hear about it, you might just want to make some time,” added Mr. Ken.

With their little talk over, Mr. Ken invited the rest of the boys into the Study, so they could have their usual evening talk and then let the boys finish their homework. ‘Dad’ Ken told the boys about Phillip’s mom and her prognosis. The boys now understood what their youngest ‘brother’ was having to deal with.

Mr. Ken then told them about the groundbreaking ceremony and his invitation to the archbishop and his right-hand man to come to the Memorial Day Picnic. The man then talked about them working on the Easter eggs that Saturday and that Phillip would have a new friend there. He then asked his older teens if they had the prize coupons ready. They said they didn’t, but since they did them last year, they had the templates in the computer and it wouldn’t take them long Friday night to print them out.

The meeting was over earlier than usual, so Mr. Ken told Phillip to go up and work on his homework and for the other boys not to bother him unless he needed their help. The man then asked Charles and Matthew to hold back as he wanted to talk to them.

With everyone gone, Mr. Ken asked them about their revelation to Phillip about their moms. The two boys looked at one another, but it was Charles who spoke up.

“Dad … Phillip … he … at the time, we didn’t know how focused he was on his mom. We probably should have, but … well, we didn’t and … and when he lashed out at us about his mom being in the hospital and his asking us if our moms were ever in one, I know I … I didn’t want to hear it and I abruptly told him that my mom was in prison. I think I added that if he ever heard the true story, he’d understand why I told him that was where she belonged,” sort of apologized the man’s son.

Matthew added that he followed Charles’ lead and he yelled out the same thing about his mom, but that he also told Phillip that his mom told him that when they ever got together, she would kill him.

‘Dad’ Ken told the boys that Phillip was having a difficult time acclimating to The Cove with everything that happened to him and they should think back to when they first arrived at The Cove and how things went for them at first.

“Dad’ Ken told the boys that he asked their new ‘brother’ to get to know them and that they should try to be more-brotherly with him, and to give him some slack. The man added that he believed Phillip would be with them at least through the 4^th of July and maybe all the way through the summer, so they needed to really make him feel like he belonged there.

After the two boys headed up to their rooms, Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne talked about their newest charge. Wayne was concerned about what changes Phillip’s addition to The Cove might cause. All Mr. Ken could say in reply was that all of the boy’s cause changes to The Cove and they all needed to be ready to adjust to them.

Mr. Wayne decided to leave early that night, so it was just going to be Mr. Ken going up to say good night to the boys when it came time.

But before he did that, he called Judy to tell her what he learned about Phillip’s mother and that they met the grandmother at the hospital that evening. He also needed to know how he should proceed with Phillip visiting his mom and if Adeline should be allowed to visit her grandson there at The Cove.

Judy, the Director of Children’s Protective Services, was surprised at what she learned about Mackenzie Flores that evening. She knew that the court order stated that mom and son were not to have any contact until Mackenzie completed a certain amount of the court’s requirements.

With that in mind, Judy Turner, told Mr. Ken that he should keep Phillip away from visiting his mom, unless there is a major change in her medical condition, and blame her for that decision. She also said that the grandmother would have to be included in that scenario as the court’s order said there was to be no contact until the mother had met the courts conditions.

Ken thanked his friend Judy for the decision and offered that with Mackenzie not even recognizing her mom or son, it might be a long time before they might ever get back together. He did recommend, though, that she stay away from the Cove for a few days. They both had a good laugh over that.

Mr. Ken went upstairs to say goodnight to the boys. When he stopped at Phillip’s room, he saw the boy was still busy working on his homework, so he told him he would be back.

Mr. Ken then went to Matthew’s room. They talked about how Matthew was doing with everything now that he’d been back at The Cove for over three months. Matthew asked his ‘dad’ if there was a chance that he would be adopted. Mr. Ken knew that question would come up one day, so he honestly told the boy that his mom had been contacted about giving up her parental rights. But just like Charles’ mom, she didn’t budge.

Another issue he told them they had to overcome, was the fact that she would be released from prison in less than four years. ‘Dad’ Ken told the boy that he and Bill Jackson would continue to work on the possibly of his adopting the boy, but Matthew needed to know that right now his mom held the upper hand.

Charles was visited next. The boy apologized to his dad again for how he acted towards Phillip earlier. Dad Ken told his son not to let his frustration with Phillip get to him. The man reminded his son that not only was his ‘brother’ dealing with his mother being in the hospital, he also had a man out to get him.

Mr. Ken reminded his son about how he felt when ‘Smokey’ was out after him and how hard pressed he was not knowing when the man would ever show up, again. Dad Ken told Charles that he was lucky that he knew within a few days what ‘Smokey’s’ outcome was. He asked his son to try to help Phillip get through whatever pressure Rafael was pitting on his mind.

Charles said he understood what his dad was saying and he promised he’d try to sit down with his new ‘brother’ and give him some brotherly advice on how to handle it and to trust his ‘brothers’ and come to them if he was feeling the pressure.

In Robert’s room, Robert thanked his dad for agreeing to take him to see his mom. He also told his dad that he decided to go and see his real dad too. Dad Ken asked his son what changed his mind on seeing Frank. Robert said he figured he needed to move forward and his not going to see his dad was one of those roadblocks keeping him from doing just that.

Dad Ken hugged his son and told him he’d get with Mr. Chris tomorrow and ask him to see what he could find out about Frank Harrison. Robert said if he didn’t get to see his dad until the summer that would be OK with him, but he’d like to do that before the Carnival.

Mr. Ken talked to Bill about his decision to talk to Phillip about his involvement in the Goldersons home invasion and Kaden. Bill told his foster dad that Phillip heard some of the story up at the Pavilion when Mark visited and, now, after hearing about Kaden, he felt his newest ‘brother’ needed to feel like he is part of The Cove. Mr. Ken told the older Cover teen that it was his story to tell and that it was up to him to tell his ‘brother’ what he thought was right.

When Mr. Ken finally got to Phillip’s room, the boy was ready to go to bed.

“I thought you’d never get here,” offered the boy, when the owner of The Cove and the boy’s foster dad entered the room after doing the Three-Knock Rule.

“Well, I thought you’re getting your homework done was more important than my talking with you first. So, how does it feel to be last?” chuckled Mr. Ken.

“So, you’ve talked to all of my ‘brothers’ already?” asked a surprised Phillip.

“I sure have. Now it is your turn. So, what do you want to talk about?” asked the foster dad.

“Well, my mom is on my mind, but … I’m not going to be able to see her, anymore, am I?” asked the boy.

“To be honest with you, Phillip, no, you aren’t. Since she doesn’t even recognize you, it would be fruitless to go there every day, and her not having any changes. I think … I think we need to give the doctors some time to see what they can do to get your mom well again.

“And, before you ask, your grandmother … she isn’t going to be allowed to visit you here either. The court’s decree is that you aren’t supposed to have any contact with your family until your mom finished a certain amount of her required conditions. Seeing that your mom is under medical care it could be a lot longer than anyone expects,” honestly explained the foster dad.

“Mister Ken,” began Phillip, “will I … will I ever be accepted by the other boys?”

“Yes, Phillip, you will be. It’s just … well, with everything that’s happened to you in your first seven days here … you still haven’t had the time to settle in and to get to know them or they you. I think with us not trying to see your mom every day you will now have more time to be here to do that, now.

“I think that will also give you the time you need to settle in here at The Cove. And once you have your friends coming over every weekend and you … getting into a routine, you will feel The Cove is now your home.

“Now, it is getting late, end even though you had a cat nap earlier, my bet is that your body needs a good night’s sleep. So, what say you go and drain your lizard and get in bed,” said a smiling Mr. Ken.

“My lizard? I thought it was my dragon?” now asked a smiling Phillip.

“Dragon? Lizard? They both need to be drained. Now go and do it!” said Mr. Ken, as he hugged the boy and then tapped his butt to urge him to use the bathroom.

When the youngest Cover returned to his bedroom, Mr. Ken hugged the boy one more time and then headed down to his own bedroom. As he did that, Chief was coming up the stairs to join his new master in the bedroom.

It had been a long day for the oldest and youngest Covers. They were both happy to be in bed that night. Everyone in The Cove household slept well that 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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