Published: 4 Apr 2024

From The Previous Chapter:

The Covers had a very busy day with the long airplane ride, the limousine ride and the stress of the previous day’s fight their friends were involved in and the aftermath on their minds. When they finally laid down it didn’t take them long to fall asleep.

Chief was also happy to be home with her men. She watched over Phillip as he slept that night and when she knew he was fast asleep, she relaxed enough to allow herself to sleep and dream of her litter of puppies she would soon have.

The Cove was quiet the whole night through.

Ken Thomas was still feeling the effects of that long twelve-day trip when he woke up Thursday morning. He would have loved to have taken the rest of the week off to recover, but he needed to go into the office for the rest of the week in order to coordinate with Ben Walthers, his President of Three Finger Entertainment, LLC, to make sure the Grand Re-Opening of Edgewood was what they wanted to happen and how.

After getting himself ready for his day, Mr. Ken went out and got his morning newspaper to get caught up on what was happening in his area of Texas, and to enjoy his first few cups of hot coffee. And upon heating up his breakfast tacos he noticed the boys didn’t set out any for themselves, as he mentioned for them to do before saying goodnight to them the night before.

So, being the ‘family man’ that he is, he placed fifteen breakfast tacos in the convection oven for the five boys, three for each of them, and set the oven at 250 degrees F for ninety minutes. That way they would be thawed and warmed for them when they came down for breakfast. He decided to leave them a note to either turn up the temperature, or place them in the microwave, if they wanted them warmer.

At the office Mr. Ken quickly got with Ben and they buckled down to talk about Edgewood. The park’s owner told Ben, that before he left, he told Jason to get with the paving contractor and have them pave at least half of the parking lot, as it really needed it, and they would have the other half done before the beginning of next year.

The two talked about what the admission price for adults and children should be. They also talked about whether or not they should offer a Season Pass and, if so, should they offer a two-year Pass to include next year as well, and at what price. They also decided to sell off the remaining Edgewood refillable bottles at $6.95 each and with a refill to cost $1.00 each. They also decided to discount the remaining Edgewood merchandise initially at 25% off and they would increase the discount as the summer progressed.

Ben asked if they should announce what new rides that were on tap for next year. Mr. Ken thought that it would be good for the people to know what they had intended to do to replace the rides that they dismantled, and that would ultimately enhance the park. Ben then asked if they should also announce the new coaster.

Mr. Ken thought about that for a moment and then recommended that they should just hint to the people to watch for a major announcement that would be coming later in the summer and just leave it at that. He said they could announce it when they announce the other three new steel coasters for the other parks at the same time.

They also agreed to announce the new name of the park at the Grand Re-Opening and Ben was to have the banner made locally and they would take it with them. They figured this way the name wouldn’t be leaked there, as the locals here would think it was the name of the Four Corners Amusement Park they were building.

The two then talked about the new Four Corners Amusement Park. Mr. Ken wanted to know how far along Nelson was in moving that project to completion. Ben told his boss that Nelson was now settled in an apartment and the two discussed the overall layout of the park. Ben also mentioned that they had already installed a few of the children’s rides.

Ben indicated that the restrooms were now complete, the electrical was fully installed with the exception of the actual lines to the rides. He added that he and Nelson had finalized their placement and all they needed to do now was actually put them in their positions.

Mr. Ken asked when that would happen and Ben said Nelson should be at the park right now siting them, and once they were leveled, the electric contractor would run the power lines directly there and then they would lay in the walkways.

The two men then talked about hiring the ride operators and when they would begin their training. Mr. Ken also asked about the midway games and refreshment stands and when they would be installed. He also asked about the prizes. Ben told his boss that he was on top of that and described to him how those would be installed as soon as all the rides were sited and leveled.

Ben added that the other parks had sent him different sized plush prizes for them to use and he has already ordered what they will use from now on. The President of TFE did mention that they now needed a storage facility for the plush and would also need it for the dry products for the refreshment stands at the new park. He paused and said he was using a vacant office in the building for now. Mr. Ken just smiled and agreed they need to find a storage facility close by the amusement park.

Mr. Ken then looked at the time and remembered he needed to call Wayne, or Dennis, to see if one of them could help the boys with getting fresh burger and hot dog buns, lettuce, tomatoes and anything else the boys needed, while letting Billy do the driving. Wayne agreed to help out, as he wanted to see if Billy and Lonnie had gotten started on power washing the estate perimeter walls.

Mr. Ken then got with Ms. Jackie on the status of the train for the Four Corners Amusement Park. She told him that the bids were in and all they needed were for him to review and accept one of them, and that by the first of September the Four Corners train would begin to be installed.

Ken Thomas asked to review the bids. He, Jackie and Ben looked over the three bids and even though one was more expensive than the others, overall, it included more bang for his buck. Initially, he was looking for a 15-inch or 16-inch gauge track train, but Mr. Ken opted for a 24-inch gauge train because it would more easily accommodate the physically disabled in their manual and motorized wheelchairs.

Ms. Jackie was given the project to manage and she was asked to have the train manufacturer come to their office to discuss the contract and iron out any questions they had and, if everyone was agreeable, they would sign the contract and construction could begin right away, or at least by the first of September.

The two other projects Ms. Jackie was responsible for were the car wash and the boat storage lot, which were both ready to open. The Project Manager had advertised for someone to manage each of them and she and Ben had interviewed a number of prospective candidates and they were only waiting on him to approve hiring them. Mr. Ken told them that if they were satisfied with the people, they were going to recommend to him, then they should hire them and get the places open and generating some income. The three then had a good laugh.

All of that happened before lunch.

When the boys finally came down that morning, they found their ‘dad’s’ note about the breakfast tacos. They found that they were warm, but they wanted them hotter, so they decided not to wait, so they put them in the microwave oven to speed up the heating process. Essentially two minutes later all fifteen tacos were as hot as the boys wanted them and they soon had their breakfast eaten.

Eric arrived around 9:30 and he and Robert quickly got to working on cutting and trimming the big field. They flipped a coin, as they usually did to see who rode the zero-turn mower and who did the edging and trimming. Eric won the toss, this time, and smiled as he rode the mower back and forth on the big field.

Charles, Matthew and Billy, with Phillip tagging along to watch and learn, began checking out the PWCs, or Personal Water Craft. Yes, Todd was responsible to ensure they were in running condition, but the boys went and checked the oil and started each of them to make sure they were working in case any of their qualified friends wanted to take them out.

Charles and Matthew then went and checked on the sailboats. Phillip was interested in learning how to sail, and he asked Charles if he would take him out some time. The teenager told his youngest ‘brother’ that he would, but not right away, as he wanted to show all of their friends the videos and pictures, he took of the Fantasy Fun Park. The teen told Phillip that if there was time later in the day he would.

Mr. Wayne arrived around twelve noon, just as Billy and Lonnie were getting the pressure washers set up to begin washing the estate perimeter walls. The Estate Master told Billy that the two of them would go out and buy the things the boys identified last night that they needed to make the barbeque work.

Mr. Wayne told Lonnie to go ahead and get started and he and Billy would be back in about two hours. The man then told Billy to get the keys to the van and drive them to the big box store.

But before Billy went to get the van keys, he asked Mr. Wayne if he saw all the bullet holes from the shootout. That question peaked Lonnie’s interest, too, so the three of them walked down to the Pavilion and new storage garage.

Mr. Wayne knew about the holes, but he wasn’t prepared to see the extent of the damage that there was. The other Cover boy’s friends had also begun to arrive and they wondered what Mr. Wayne, Billy and Lonnie were looking at, so they walked over.

They knew about the shootout and when they saw all the bullet holes in the new storage garage and Pavilion walls, they were amazed, but what really caught their attention were all the bullet holes in the lockers. The boys who had a bullet hole, or multiple holes, in their locker quickly opened it to see what, if any, damage there was.

Before long all of the Cover’s friends were looking at the damage caused from the gun fire between the Sheriff Deputies, the Diamond Security Guards and Rafael Ruiz and his cohorts. Billy told the boys who had damage, or destroyed skateboards, that Mr. Ken told them last night that he would replace them. The Cover teen told the boys that it would take a few days because Mr. Ken is extremely busy right now, so for them to be patient.

Billy then went to get the keys for the van and soon he and Mr. Wayne were on their way to get the fresh hamburger and hot dog buns, precooked bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, onions and cheeses for the barbeque. Lonnie then got started on power washing the estate walls beginning at the Main Gate.

Charles gathered all of their friends and told them that he had pictures and videos of their first amusement park and would use the large TV under the Pavilion and if they wanted to see them that’s where they should head.

But first, everyone wanted to hear from Cooper, Dylan and Tyler what actually happened in the Men’s Restroom at The Mall when Richard was stabbed and that David has now been grounded by his parents.

The three teens told everyone that they couldn’t tell their gathered friends much more than what they already knew from their reading the newspapers. They told them when David and Rich didn’t come back to the Food Court, after about ten minutes, they went looking for them.

Cooper told everyone that when they opened the Men’s Restroom door, they saw that Richard and David were all messed up and bloody. He told everyone that he yelled something like, “Leave my friends alone!” and that he jumped on the closest oldest junior.

Tyler and Dylan told everyone that once Cooper jumped on one of the older teens, they instinctively jumped on one of them too. They added that fists were flying and curses were being said and that one of older teens said they didn’t plan on any of that happening and was going to leave.

Cooper told the group that he somehow saw Rich laying on the bathroom floor, but he was busy trying not to get beat on too much and, then all of a sudden, the Sheriff Deputies and Mall Security guys came rushing in.

Tyler continued telling their story by saying the cops pulled everyone apart and then one Deputy made a call for more deputies and then he went and checked on Rich. Dylan added that the deputy yelled for the other Deputy to call for an ambulance that it looked like the boy had been stabbed, and that the deputy began adding pressure to where the blood was coming from.

Cooper said his heart sank when he heard that Rich had been stabbed. And then said he saw the older teens look around and then they asked where Nick and Alex were. Dylan spoke up and told the group that the deputies asked who Nick and Alex were and got their names, Nicholas Crown and Alexander Dennis, and then called them in.

Tyler added that when the other Sheriff Deputies arrived, the EMT’s arrived too, and they went right to Rich and took care of him. The fourteen-year-old continued and described that there was blood everywhere and he was afraid that Rich would die. He said the deputies were starting to separate them and Cooper yelled out to them not to say anything unless their parents were there.

Dylan offered how pissed the deputies were after Cooper told them not to say anything unless their parents were there, and that’s when they told them they would be taken down to the Department Headquarters unless they talked.

Tyler laughed as that’s what they did and when their parents arrived, they told them they had called Stewart Russel to represent them if they would be charged with anything.

Cooper explained that since then the charges of fighting and disturbing the peace had been dropped, and that he was grateful for that. He told everyone there that he didn’t know how Robert and Charles and everyone else who had to go to court for when they were almost kidnapped dealt with all of that.

Charles told everyone that David was there that night and he wonders if his parents are holding that against him, which was why he wasn’t there with them now.

The boys all thanked Cooper, Tyler and Dylan for talking to them about the altercation in the Men’s Restroom, and they all wondered how Rich was doing. Charles told them that his dad talked to Richard’s dad and that tomorrow, Friday, would be the earliest that anyone might get to see him.

After the long talk, Charles showed everyone the pictures and videos he had of Fantasy Fun Park. The Cover boy’s friends loved seeing the videos and pictures from Fantasy Fun Park. They finally got to see what one of Mr. Ken’s amusement parks looked like and what types of amusement rides he had there.

Since Robert and Eric were still doing their job of cutting the large field and Billy was with Mr. Wayne buying the needed barbeque items, Charles got everyone’s attention at the conclusion of the Fantasy Fun Park review. The Cover teen told all of their friends that now that they were back, they needed to start up with new barbeque teams.

Charles also told them to look around. He asked them if they saw any of Billy’s friends, other than Lonnie. The teen Cover said that with them all being sixteen, they all probably have jobs now and wouldn’t be around much anymore, so it would be up to them to ramrod the teams.

Charles reminded everyone that Billy and his friends were all fifteen last year when they led the teams and now Robert and his friends are fifteen and they will be asked to lead the teams. He then asked Logan if he would create six equal barbeque teams. The Cover added he didn’t want to be accused of favoritism. The boys all laughed.

Charles also told them that until Mr. Wayne and Billy returned, they couldn’t have a barbeque because most of the buns, tomatoes, lettuce and onions spoiled while they were gone for almost two weeks, and they were out buying fresh produce, as well as precooked bacon and some cheese for cheeseburgers, so this was a good time to create the teams.

Everyone trusted Logan who went about making up the new barbeque teams. The new team leaders would be Robert, Brad, Gordon, Trevor, Cody and, of course, Logan. Eric, Chuck, Josh and Isaiah were placed on as second in command to lead if one of the other leads were away on vacation, or otherwise not going to be there on the day they had the task.

One of the things that Brad commented on was that the summer felt different than last year’s for some reason. The soon-to-be sophomore boys talked about it and they all said they felt it as well.

It was Logan, though, who spoke up and told them that they were a year older now and looked at things differently and that next year they would be the ones looking for jobs and Charles and his friends would be leading the barbeque teams. The fifteen-year-old teens came to realize that their years of fun would eventually come to an end and their coming to The Cove would also.

Charles and his friends listened to what the older teens were talking about, and they too talked amongst themselves about the fun they’ve all had and that one day they too would be the leaders and then turning The Cove over to Matthew and whomever came after him.

Charles took some time to call his dad and caught him at a good time. The teen asked him if he could call Mrs. Fritzer and ask her about David and why he is being punished and to ask her if it was because of what also happened back at Halloween. Charles told his dad that none of his friends has heard from David ever since the attack.

Mr. Ken knew that David was there when his ‘sons’ were almost kidnapped, and he too felt that the boy might be a victim of circumstance with this latest fray that he was involved in. He knew that Sophie Fritzer was a stern woman and that Nolan was the easy going one. He just hoped that he could appeal to the fairness side of each of them.

Ken Thomas called the Fritzer’s and talked to Sophie first. He asked about David and wondered why he hadn’t come over to The Cove today. Sophie made some lame excuse and then passed the phone to Nolan, the boy’s dad. Mr. Ken told the man that Charles was asking about his friend, and that he had hoped he’d be back with them now that they were back from their trip.

Ken Thomas also told Nolan that he wanted to replace David’s coin, as now the one he had wasn’t good for anything, other than as a paperweight. Nolan asked Mr. Ken to hold on as he talked to Sophie. Sophie was the one who came back on the phone and asked why did her son need another coin.

Mr. Ken told her that the coin her son squeezed probably saved Richard’s Longger’s life and that David needed another one so that if he was ever in that sort of situation again, he would have one that he could rely on.

The phone went quiet after what Mr. Ken said to Sophie Fritzer. Mr. Ken then heard talking between the mom and dad. Then Nolan came to the phone and told the owner of The Cove that they were going to bring David over to The Cove. Mr. Ken told them that he was at the office right then, but that he would make sure that their son got a new coin that weekend.

A half-hour later, David Fritzer arrived at The Cove and all of his friends were joyous that he was able to come there. Nolan Fritzer told Charles that he, they, were misguided from keeping their son from his friends and that David would be allowed to continue to come over there.

While all that was going on, Mr. Wayne and Billy returned from their shopping trip for the supplies the Cover’s needed to put on a barbeque. So, as soon as the needed foods were off-loaded, the new team got together and began putting the barbeque together.

In the meantime, Phillip, Westin, Jeffrey and Ty, with Bryson and Preston singing, did start up their young band again. What was new this time around was that Westin now had a new electric guitar like what Phillip and Ty had. When the boy arrived that day, his dad brought the new guitar setup over and they put it in the storage garage with the other band members’ instruments.

Westin explained to his friends that his parents talked to Ty’s mom and dad about the electric guitar they bought Ty. He told them that his parents told him that the reason they bought him one was that the cost was very reasonable.

The boys were a little rusty after not playing for almost two weeks, but after tuning their guitars and a few rough starts, the young band did get their sound working again, and the smiles on their adolescent faces showed how pleased they were in getting back together.

When it came time to eat, the barbeque team leader went over to the dinner bells and had to decide which one to use. Did he want to use the farmhouse dinner bell out on the 6×6 post, or the ranch wagon triangle hanging from the end of the middle Pavilion rafter. He decided to use the triangle to call everyone to ‘come and get it’, or that it was time to eat.

The triangle was heard all around the estate. The lifeguards even heard it out at the cove and knew it was time to get something to eat. They had missed out on the barbeques over the past two weeks, especially when they were at The Cove practicing their life saving skills, as they had last year, when the Covers were on their trip.

As everyone ate, Charles let the Fantasy Fun Park DVD run on the large TV screen up in the rafters of the Pavilion. That way everyone, including the lifeguards, could watch the rides the Covers rode on during their recent visit to that park. Everyone also knew that over the next four days Charles would show the remaining park videos and pictures that he took when the Covers visited the rest of Mr. Ken’s parks.

When Phillip had finished eating his burger and put his plate and utensils in the trash, he waited until he saw that Mr. Wayne was finished, too. He had a question he wanted to ask him and he didn’t want to disturb him until the man was unoccupied.

Then, when he saw his opportunity, Phillip walked over to the Estate Master and asked, “Mr. Wayne … when do you think I will be able to go and see my mom again?”

The question caught Wayne Mitchell off guard and he had to think fast in order to answer the young Cover. “Phillip … Mr. Dennis and I … we are off today and tomorrow. I will mention it to Mr. Ken and see if he can maybe take you tomorrow.

“But know this. Charles … he has asked to go and see his friend … the one who was stabbed earlier in the week, so that may take priority as Richard and Charles go way back. And the stabbing … well, it was a very serious thing to happen to someone you are very close to. But we will get you over to see your mom, Phillip. OK?” finished the Estate Master.

“Yea, I understand. It’s just … well, I haven’t seen her in such a long time, too, Mr. Wayne, that I would like to … well, please talk to Mr. Ken for me. Please!” implored the youngest Cover.

Mr. Wayne knew that the youngster didn’t truly understand the circumstances about the stabbing and the close friendship Charles and Richard had. The Estate Master recognized that this was one of those instances in large households where the needs of two different individuals were in conflict, and finding a suitable resolution to satisfy both boys might mean some give-and-take on both boys’ parts.

Over at the office, Ken Thomas took some time to call Kate. The two talked almost every day and Ken didn’t want to miss out on talking to the woman he had fallen for. The two talked more about the pending trip for Kate and her mom and the boys to come to The Cove just before the 4^th of July Carnival. Kate told Ken that the boys had talked non-stop about going to their ‘big brother’s’ home to learn how to use their skateboards better.

Kate also told Ken how Lane was making waves about her taking his sons away for that time frame, as he wanted to have them with him during the 4^th of July. Kate told Ken that he’d never taken the boys for any of the Holidays, but somehow, he learned that she was going to visit her new boyfriend and taking the boys with her. And now, for some reason he wasn’t going to let her take to boys out of the state.

Ken asked her if she knew how Lane had heard about her leaving the state with the boys. He also asked her if she and Amy Ozarker had talked about investigating Lane, and seeing if they could find something to get him off her back.

Ken also surmised that it had to be someone where she worked, at the Real Estate Company, who was feeding Lane information about her sales and paychecks, which was why he was coming to her for money, when he did.

Ken asked Kate to get with Amy as soon as they hung up and not to tell anyone at the office what she was doing and why she was talking to a lawyer, especially her boss and his secretary.

He also asked her to build a list of all the times Lane had asked her for money, and how much and what she gave him and when. He told her that if they ever have to go to court that will come into play, especially if he was supposed to give her child support and never has.

Ken finished by saying that Lane must be holding something over her, which was why he comes to her for money and she hasn’t refused him. He told her to trust Amy and to let her research the man and his associates, and to finally get that monkey off her back.

When he hung up with Kate, he quickly called Amy and told her to get ready to go to court and why. He explained that the father of Kate’s sons will probably try to stop her from going on vacation at the last minute.

He expounded further and clarified that she needs to be ready to argue that the man, Lane, is vindictive, hasn’t been paying child support, has never taken the boys for any Holiday and now that she is seeing someone, he is jealous and wants to ruin the relationship. And that the reason he wants to stop the relationship is in order that he can continue to scam money from Kate, because he is holding something over her that Amy has to find out before they ever go to court.

Amy said she felt sorry for Kate and that her secretary just took a phone call from her, so she needed to return the call and help her out. Ken told her not to spare any money and do what was necessary to get Lane off Kate’s back and to find who is leaking information to Lane about Kate and when she gets paid and anything else about the woman’s activities. Amy promised Ken she would do whatever it takes!

When the barbeque was over, the day’s team cleaned up, the young band went back to playing, instead of going out to the cove and swimming, and Billy and Lonnie went back to pressure washing the estate walls. Mr. Wayne did stop to talk to them before he left The Cove and told them that they could start earlier in the day, at say 10 o’clock, if they wanted to get more hours in. The two teenagers were all for that.

Ken Thomas came home from the office around 5:30 feeling like he was dragging a load of bricks behind him. He was tired from the long trip, and now he’d been at the office all day taking care of many issues that he was intimately involved with, and wanted to be a part of their resolutions.

But he knew when he walked into the house that afternoon he had to put on a happy, care-free face and not let the boys see that he is fallible. He knew after tomorrow, Friday, that he’d have the weekend to allow himself to relax and recover and get back into a steady flow of family life and work.

But a monkey wrench was thrown his way when Wayne called him that afternoon telling him that Phillip asked when he could go and see his mom. Wayne explained how he told the young Cover about Charles wanting to go and see Richard and that he may have to wait a little longer because of the long friendship the two boys had with one another and that Richard had been stabbed putting a stronger need for Charles to see his friend.

Wayne also relayed that Phillip, although he said he understood, had a strong desire to see his mom, whom he hadn’t seen in two weeks. The Estate Master told his employer that he could see there was conflict brewing inside the boy that said he had needs that were just as important as Charles’. Wayne wished Ken good luck in figuring out how he was going to resolve that.

Ken Thomas knew that the best way to resolve that conflict was to take Phillip over to see his mom that night. But he wondered if he had the stamina to do it. He was mentally tired and he needed to rest his mind and body.

What he decided to do that afternoon when he arrived home was to call Bill down to the Study just before they went out to dinner. When the teenager came there, he told the teen that since he said he needed more driving time, he was going to have him drive him and Phillip over to see the boy’s mom later that evening, after dinner.

Bill said that he’d need to take a quick shower as he and Lonnie had been pressure washing the estate walls all day. Mr. Ken asked him to go up and take a quick shower and then all of them would head over to the Four Corner’s Diner to get something to eat.

When the boys heard that Bill would be driving their ‘dad’ and Phillip over to see the boy’s mom after they all ate, they knew that driving the Go-Karts that evening was out of the question.

At dinner, ‘dad’ Ken asked the boys to order something quick and easy, so they could get in and out, in order for Phillip to spend some time with his mom. And while the boys waited for their food to come to the table, ‘dad’ Ken told them that Mr. Chris would brief them tomorrow morning on what they would do to register the local neighbor families so they could receive their carnival wrist bands, food coupons/vouchers and carnival game tickets that Saturday and Sunday and the following Saturday and Sunday for the two-day 4^th of July Carnival.

And as they ate, Mr. Ken told the boys that he was going to meet Rene Vaughn at the Four Corner’s Amusement Park on Saturday and she would interview him about the change of venue beginning the following year for the carnival. He then asked them to “eat up” so Bill could drive him and Phillip over to see Mackenzie as it was, their ‘brother’ wouldn’t get to spend much time with her as visiting hours ended at eight o’clock.

Mackenzie was not only pleased to see her son, after two weeks, she also got to meet one of his older ‘brothers’, Billy. She also commented that he was still wearing his glasses and she wanted to know what that strap was behind his ears.

Phillip told her that his ‘dad’ gave it to him to hold his glasses on his head while he rode the rides. The ‘dad’ comment initially threw the boy’s mother for a loop. That was until she remembered that she told him that it was OK for him to call Mr. Ken ‘dad’ and then she didn’t make a scene in front of Mr. Ken and Billy.

Phillip was also happy he got to see her and he told her all about his trip, including flying in the private airplane, sitting in the co-pilot’s seat, being served breakfast in the plane and then staying in all those different hotels and, of course, riding on all of the roller coasters. The young Cover told his mom how he worked up his courage to ride the bigger roller coasters, but after he did, he told her he now loves riding them and that he can’t wait until he can do it again when they go back before school starts in August.

And while the mother and son were talking, Phillip noticed that his mom was speaking better and seemed to be in better spirits. The boy also noticed that she was more aware of what he was talking to her about and was asking him questions about his trip. The boy did ask his mom if she was getting better and if they would soon be back to living together.

Mackenzie told her son that she was getting much better, but then reminded her son that as soon as she was released from the hospital the judge would require her to attend those parenting courses and money management classes and to do a few other things before they could go back to living together.

Phillip asked her how soon would that be. Mackenzie told her son honestly that if everything worked out as she hoped it would that it might be around the middle of August. That put a big smile on the boy’s face, and she got a big hug from her son. The boy told her that he couldn’t wait until that day happened.

Mr. Ken took note of the time frame Mackenzie Flores had indicated and told himself he needed to watch the calendar so they could have a sending away party for Phillip for when he was to go back to living with his mom.

Billy heard what was said and he was happy for his little ‘brother’ that he would soon go back to living with his mom, as Mark had done when he went back to his mom and dad. He knew it would be hard to lose another ‘brother’, but he knew this was for the best, as it was for Mark.

When the three Cover’s returned to The Cove, Phillip couldn’t wait to tell his ‘brothers’ that he might be moving back with his mom around the middle of August. The boys were happy for Phillip and they all had a dish of ice cream to sort of celebrate the good news.

It was then that Robert told his dad that eight of the boy’s skateboards were hit by the gunshots during the shootout between the Sheriff Deputies, Diamond Security and Rafael Ruiz and his cohorts. The teen asked him when he would be able to replace them as he said he would.

Dad Ken sighed at hearing so many skateboards were destroyed and he told Robert that he’d try to get them replaced by Monday or Tuesday, at the latest. But he added that he wasn’t going to promise anything, right now, as things were building up at work right now. The boys knew that they had to tell their friends to just be patient, for now.

‘Dad’ Ken told the boys that he was running on empty and he needed to get some rest and so he was going to say goodnight to them there in the Kitchen Nook. That was so unlike their ‘dad’, but they told him that they understood and they all got hugs from the man and after they cleaned up their dirty dishes and put them in the dishwasher, they all headed up to their rooms, while ‘dad’ Ken headed to his retreat.

When they were all upstairs, the boys talked about their ‘dad’ going to bed so early. Robert told them that he saw this one other time when his dad was working so hard that he needed to slow down and rest.

The teen told them that they needed to try to do things for themselves and if there were any problems that they couldn’t work out, they needed to rely on Mr. Wayne and Mr. Dennis to work them out for them for the next few days.

Charles told his ‘brothers’ that his dad was under a lot of stress with the opening of the Four Corner’s Amusement Park, Edgewood, the car wash and the boat storage lot, the twins and their aunt and uncle and cousins coming to visit and of course the 4^th of July Carnival, and that they needed to give him the freedom away from them, meaning they should not be asking him to do anything special until after the twins leave.

The boys talked about what Robert and Charles mentioned and they said they would talk about any problems between themselves first, go to Mr. Wayne next and then Mr. Dennis if they couldn’t get things resolved. They also wondered what they would have to do to register the neighbors over the weekends, but they figured Mr. Chris would fill them in tomorrow.

The boys got to bed around ten o’clock that night, after their long talk.

But it was Ken Thomas, whose head no sooner hit the pillow on his king-sized bed at 9:10, that same night, who would get the much-needed rest that his body and mind badly needed.

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

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