Published: 6 Jun 2024

From The Previous Chapter:

Ken Thomas thought about calling Charles and asking him about the preparations for the Grand Re-Opening ceremony on Saturday. But he decided that with Ben there everything would be set to go, and that Charles didn’t need to be bothered with answering for that type of information.

Ken Thomas decided to turn in early that evening. It had been a draining week on him with all the emotions of what was going on between Kate and Lane and now the paternity test to determine if Rusty is indeed the man’s son. He also realized that Evelyn was some kind of work of a woman, who didn’t care about either of the boys and now she was threatening to take them away from Kate.

Ken told himself to sleep on it, so he went, used the facility, then laid down on his comfortable bed and before long, he was fast asleep.

Ken Thomas woke up at 7:30, and after taking a shower and getting dressed, went down to have breakfast at the hotel’s breakfast buffet before he packed for his trip over to Edgewood. As he ate, the man thought about calling Kate, but knew he needed to let her call him to let him know if she and the boys were going to go back with him to The Cove.

After eating, Ken went up to his room to pack for his afternoon trip over to Edgewood. It was close to 10:30 when his cell phone rang. It was Kate. The two talked and Kate told him that she decided to take him up on his offer to leave with him today. She asked him what time she and the boys needed to be ready. He told her that he would pick them up at one o’clock.

As soon as the two hung up. Ken Thomas called his air charter company to tell them that his flight over to Edgewood would have three more passengers and that the flight plan for tomorrow would now change. The air charter company appreciated the early notification about tomorrow’s change in the flight plan.

After that phone call, Ken called Ben at Edgewood to tell him that he would be arriving later that afternoon with Kate and her boys, and that he might need Charles to help with the boys. The two then talked about tomorrow’s ceremony. Ken then looked at the time and told Ben he needed to check out of his hotel, and that he’d see him about five o’clock after he and Kate checked into their hotel.

Ms. Judy dropped Eric off at The Cove on her way to work Friday morning. Robert had called his Best Friend and told him that his dad reminded him that they needed to cut the field, so Eric arrived at The Cove bright and early.

Momma let him into the house and had him sit at the table in the Kitchen Nook with Mr. Wayne, who was sitting there reading the morning newspaper. Usually, Mr. Ken would have Eric go up to Robert’s room, but today was different, so Eric just sat there talking with the Estate Master about the teen’s summer plans.

Robert knew his Best Friend was coming over that morning, so he got out of bed early, and he headed down to the Kitchen Nook to meet him and have breakfast. The two then would get an early start on cutting the field. The two Best Friends were finishing up their breakfast and heading out the garage door when Billy, Matthew and Phillip were coming into the Kitchen Nook.

Robert heard his ‘brothers’ coming into the Kitchen Nook as he was leaving, so he turned and said to them, “Dad reminded me that we need to clean the Pavilion restrooms before the carnival on Monday and Tuesday. And we also need to remember to lock the storage rooms and the garage. Gotta go. C’ya!”

As the boys sat down, Billy told his ‘brothers’ that they do need to clean the restrooms and that they’ll do it Sunday before their friends leave The Cove. He also told them that Mr. Chris will give them the Carnival Gift Packages today, so they can give them to their friends, so they’ll have them for the carnival.

Phillip then asked about their friends’ moms, dads, brothers and sisters. He wanted to know if they would get the Carnival Gift Packages, too. Billy told the young Cover that they didn’t last year, so he didn’t think that they would this year either.

Phillip said he didn’t think that it was fair that all the families close by got the free stuff, but their friends didn’t. Billy told his ‘brother’ that all things aren’t always fair, but that his friends will be able to enjoy the rides and the foods for free, when they come over, and he should enjoy them with them. Phillip just sighed at what he thought was the unfairness, as he went back to eating his breakfast.

Matthew then started talking about how he couldn’t wait until Kevin and Kyle were there on Sunday. He wondered how much they’d grown since they moved away, and if they would really want to use the empty bedroom upstairs. The pre-teen said he couldn’t wait to catch up with them on what they’ve been doing and how they liked living where they are, with their aunt and uncle. Mr. Wayne just sat there reading the newspaper and listening to the conversation.

At Edgewood, Charles and Rylan were busy hanging more red, white and blue banners and bunting around the park, as well as the same color helium balloons. Ben wanted a bigger celebratory atmosphere around the park, since that was the Grand Re-Opening of the park, and he wanted the guests to feel the jubilation and excitement he and Ken had, as they walked through the park.

The two teenagers were dressed in Edgewood attire, identifying them as employees, as they made their way around the entire park, setting out the extra banners and bunting Ben acquired, then setting out the helium balloons all around the park.

Charles made sure that Patches got a good share of the extra decorations. He liked the ride operators and the four different attendants who worked there, and he told them he wanted to make their ride stand out for their riders during the Grand Re-Opening. He told them he felt that Patches is just as much a part of the Re-Opening, as the park was.

The two teens, when they could, quickly went in and hung the red, white and blue adornments, while the coaster train was being off loaded and then loaded with new riders. It took them two full coaster loads before they had Patches looking festive.

They told the ride operator that they would be back with the colorful balloons later tonight, or first thing in the morning. The three current ride workers thanked the two teens for taking care of Patches for them, and told the boys that they could ride through the Exit any time.

Mr. Ken picked up Kate and the two boys around one o’clock. Edith, Kate’s mom, had decided to stay home and enjoy the quietness afforded by the two boys being away. She thanked Ken for the invitation to go along, but she told him that she had seen what was there, and she didn’t want all the hustle and bustle of the crowds at the carnival and fireworks along with the extra company that could cause some drama.

The two boys were super excited that they were getting to fly on Mr. Ken’s airplane again, and this time, they were also getting to see another one of his amusement parks. Mr. Ken told them that if they get there early enough, he will get them on some of the rides. The boys couldn’t wait until they took off and arrived at Edgewood.

Ken and Kate sat up front and they had the boys sit opposite them, so they could keep an eye on Rusty and Jessy as they took off. Once the plane had reached cruising altitude, they allowed the boys to walk around the plane and look out the other windows. But the flight attendant had a snack to serve and the boys quickly found a good seat and sat and ate their hot dog and chips and drank their soda, as the plane flew along.

As the adults talked, Kate thanked Ken for all he’d done for her. She started with his assigning her all those properties he bought around Crystal Lake for her to administer up to his paying for having Amy be her lawyer. Kate went on how meeting him had changed her and her sons lives so much in just the short time they’ve known one another and now he supported helping her get Lane off her back. She then squeezed his hand, looked into his eyes and smiled.

Ken reminded her that when the paternity test comes back, the judge could very well give Lane visitation rights, and then he would be squarely in their lives. Kate agreed that it could happen, but she said that Amy was looking into filing charges against Lane for the extortion of the money she paid him.

Ken knew all that, as he and Amy had talked about what the lawyer’s next steps would be, while Kate was gone. Amy Ozarker had mentioned that she was going to talk to the District Attorney about the blackmail that Lane had done to Kate and mention that he had told her that he had some incriminating photos of her in compromising positions with other men during the time she and he had been intimate, as they created Rusty.

Amy told Ken, she hoped that she could convince the DA to look into how Lane squeezed the money out of Kate and, using the canceled checks as proof, would consider issuing a search warrant for those photos. Ken asked Amy, in the meantime, to have her investigator try to find Lane’s best friends from high school, during that time, and to ask them if they know anything about Kate sleeping around, back when she was in high school, and, if so, with whom.

Amy Ozarker and Ken Thomas were going to try an end run around Lane Blankenhart, and hit him so hard, that he wouldn’t know what hit him until he was sitting behind bars, and this time for a much longer time than before. They were also going to try to keep Evelyn from ever having any visitation rights with the boys, as she was an enabler for her son. All she did was support Lane, and she never had any contact with her grandchildren during any birthday or Holidays.

Phillip and his band-mates got to playing as they had been doing just about every day. They’d been enjoying playing together, and with them playing for Collin the other night made them want to be able to play even better. They told one another that they had to learn more songs and to try to play them more like the original bands do.

The one thing that they did recognize they didn’t have, that many other bands had, was that none of them played a bass guitar. Another instrument that they felt that they might need to round out their little band was a keyboard player.

Phillip had no idea who in their school played either of those instruments, as he had only been in that school for a few weeks before the school term ended. The other boys racked their brains to try to remember who might play either of them. But as hard as they tried, they couldn’t think of anyone. So, the boys kept on playing, and hoping that a name would come to them.

They played as they usually did until the barbeque was served. Then they ate and when they finished, they helped clean up and then they went to swim. By now they had changed in front of one another enough times, that it was almost second nature for them to change into their swimsuits without any drama. Though they took off their pants and underwear, they still kept their shirts on until they slipped their swimsuits on.

Today, when they were headed out to the water toys, Jordan called out to them to see if they wanted to ride the 3-seat water tube. The boys didn’t have to think twice and they quickly ran over to the lifeguard. The only decision they had to make was who rode first.

Jordan made them play a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors between one another and the winners went first. Jeff, Preston and Ty won and they got into the 3-person towable inflatable tube and Jordan towed it out into the lake’s waters with Hunter sitting on the back as the observer.

Jordan was kind to the riders as he went back and forth a few times nice and slow, so the boys could enjoy the ride. The lifeguard then picked up the speed and the boys knew to hold on tight as they knew from experience that he would make some tight turns to try to tip them over and throw them off the towable. And, of course, that’s what happened and all three boys came up laughing.

Phillip, Bryson and Weston were next and they knew what was coming. But Jordan was going to mix up the ride, so he didn’t just take the boys back and forth along the back of The Cove. He drove the Sea-Doo GTX Limited 300 out on the lake and away from The Cove. The boys had never been that far away from The Cove and they were enjoying the ride.

The lifeguard took his time with the PWC, but before long he made his way back to where he started. The boys figured that he would then go back and forth and then flip them off the water tube. But Jordan tricked them. The lifeguard didn’t go back and forth; he just picked up speed and made one tight turn and the three boys went flying off the towable faster than ever.

When Jordan came back to retrieve the boys, Phillip told him, “You didn’t play fair. You were supposed to go back and forth, so we could try to stay on the tube. But it was fun that way, too!”

After Jordan took those three band members back to The Cove, he continued to take the rest of the boys out on the towable tube and gave them a chance to try and stay on the tube. The boys were all having a good time out on the lake. And the ones not taking advantage of the towable were out on the other PWCs riding around the lake and sharing with those who had taken the training and were old enough.

All day, Charles and Rylan continued to hang red, white and blue streamers and bunting around the park. Ben wanted lots of the color around, not only because of the Grand Re-Opening of the park, but also because the 4^th of July was upon them, and the festive colors would help everyone celebrate the rebirth of the park, as well as the birth of the nation.

The boys were also used to blow up the helium balloons, and when they had big bunches of them, they took them all over the park and hung them. They didn’t forget their friends at Patches, though. There they set out four big bunches of the red, white and blue balloons making sure they didn’t interfere with any sight lines of the ride operator to ensure safe operation of the wooden roller coaster. The ride attendants thanked the two teens for making their ride stand out.

The two teens were also sent out, to sweep and pick up any trash around the grandstand that was located outside the main entrance. They also took the six, now newly painted stanchions, along with new rope, out there and set them up. They wanted the people to see the cordoned off area today, so if they decided to attend the ceremonies tomorrow, they would know to stand back from the dignitaries.

The two teens were kept very busy that Friday. But Charles did take the time to show Rylan around and explain what the park looked like last year, when he first visited it, and then when they were here earlier to watch Jason and the workers wash, scrub, clean, polish, power wash, paint, sweep, wipe and every other adjective that described the act of getting the park ready for tomorrow.

Rylan was surprised at everything that Charles told him about Edgewood. The teen didn’t know about the Rocket’s accident that was the ultimate downfall of the park. Rylan was also amazed at how Charles’ dad was able to bid for and then buy Edgewood, which was why they were all there that weekend to hold the Grand Re-Opening of the park.

Charles also told Rylan how he and his ‘brothers’ were assigned to help in the stores to clean them and restock the merchandise. The Cover also told him about all of the candy that had to be thrown away because it had been in the stores from last September and had turned chalky and wasn’t really fit to be sold.

The Cover then told Rylan how they were also asked to help with the inventory of all the parts for the rides and anything else in the DERR Center. Charles told Ben’s son that with ten of them working on that project they did a pretty good job of it. The Cover said that his older ‘brother’ Collin even asked to input their count in their computer so they would be that much further along when they got to doing the inventory themselves.

As the two talked about Edgewood and everything that Charles knew about the park, Rylan also tried to get Charles to tell him what the new name of the park was going to be. Charles had to admit to him that even his dad wouldn’t tell him the new name of the park and that tomorrow when they unraveled the banner, he would learn the name at the same time as he would. The two had a good laugh over that.

Billy and Lonnie finally finished the entire inside, outside and top of the outer estate wall. The outside wall was a bit difficult, due to the landscaping from the linear park that Mr. Ken had convinced the county to install from his property all the way down to Four Corners.

The teenagers had to pull back some of the ground cover when they cleaned the lower section of the wall, and then place it back. It wasn’t difficult; it was just tedious and added time to their getting that portion of the entire job done, which was to power wash all of the estate walls, the Main Gate and Guard House and then all of the driveway, curbs and the back Patio.

The two teenagers would work on the Main Gate pillars on Saturday and the other portion of the front estate wall that went right from the gate pillar. They figured they should be able to power wash all of that on Saturday and then take Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off because they didn’t work on Sunday’s and with the carnival being on Monday and Tuesday there would be too many people coming and going which would cause a potential safety hazard for everyone.

The four passengers on the air charter enjoyed the short flight over to the Edgewood Amusement Park area. The flight was a little over an hour long, and with them getting their rental car, then driving to the hotel to get registered, settled in and finally something to eat, it was close to five o’clock when the travelers arrived at Edgewood.

Jason and Ben, along with Charles and Rylan, greeted the four as they walked up to the operations building. Rusty and Jessy quickly asked their ‘big brother’ Charles, if he was going to take them on some of the rides. Mr. Ken told the boys that their mom and he would take them around the park. The two boys both yelled, “Yea!”

Braxton and Tucker were just inside the building waiting to greet the newcomers. They didn’t want to minimize Ben and Jason’s and the teen’s greeting, since Mr. Thomas was the owner and he had more connection to them, than he had with the assistant ops managers.

After the introductions were made, Ken Thomas told Jason that he promised the boys that he would take them out on some of the rides. So, he asked the operations manager for a radio and a call sign. He also asked Ben to accompany him, so the two of them could talk about tomorrow’s ceremony. Mr. Ken also asked the two teenagers to go along with them

As the small group left the operations building, Jason got on the radio and made a call. “Attention all supervisors, stand-by for an important announcement. Attention: owner one radio … is now active and the owner is out in the park with some VIPs. I repeat … owner one radio is now active and the owner is out in the park and is wearing civilian clothes. There is no need to respond to this announcement.”

Charles heard the announcement, as did everyone else, over his dad’s radio and he nudged Rylan who had no idea what it meant. Charles told him that when his dad is at any of his parks, and he takes a radio, they refer to him as Owner One. The Cover then told Rylan what happened at Crystal Lake when a food service manager wouldn’t replace a spilled soda after his dad told him to.

Ben also heard what Charles told his son and knew that when the boss said that they were to replace dropped food or spilled drinks he meant they weren’t to argue with the guest and to just move on. Ben also knew to call Arnie later to confirm what the teenager said.

The large group walked to where the Kiddie rides were and as soon as the boys saw the Frog Hopper they asked if they could ride that. Mr. Ken said there shouldn’t be any problem and the group headed in that direction.

As they approached, the ride attendant thought he recognized Mr. Thomas. He knew he recognized Charles and Rylan, as they had been running around the park the past two days hanging the red, white and blue bunting and banners and putting out the same color balloons.

Mr. Ken took the boys to the Exit and told the ride attendant that they would be on the next ride. The ride attendant didn’t know what to do. Charles saw the hesitation and went over to him and whispered to him that the man was his dad, and the park’s owner and the other man was the President of the organization that oversees all five of his dad’s parks.

When the ride was over, the ride attendant offloaded the six riders and before opening the regular line, he let Rusty and Jessy onto the ride first. The people in the line began to complain, so Mr. Ken went over to them and told them that he was using his ‘Owner’s Privilege Card’ and putting his two sons on the ride and left it at that. Four more children then joined Rusty and Jessy.

When the ride was over, Mr. Ken thanked the ride attendant for allowing him to bump the line, and the group moved over to the next ride, the Mini-Bumper Cars.

In the meantime, the Frog Hopper ride attendant called for the ride supervisor to come there and when they did, he explained what happened with the park’s owner and his jumping the line with his two young sons.

The ride supervisor quickly searched for the large group. When she found them, she went to the ride operators and told them to let the man with the radio put the two young boys with him on the ride from the Exit, before he loads anyone from the front line. She told the operator that the man with the radio was the park’s owner.

Rusty and Jessy had a blast driving the slow-moving bumper cars and hitting the other children and sometimes one another. Kate and Ken stood by and watched the boys like a young married couple would do. Charles watched his dad with Kate, and he could see how much his dad beamed being around her. He just knew that one day, they would be married.

The ride supervisor followed along with the big group, as they went to the Balloon Ride, the smaller version of the Swings, and the Mini-Pirate Ship. And each time the ride supervisor made sure the ride attendants allowed the two young boys with Mr. Thomas to enter the ride through the Exit, before they allowed any riders to enter through the main line.

The ride supervisor then explained to the ride operators that the man with the radio was the park’s owner and that the other man was the President of Three Finger Entertainment which oversaw that park and four others. She told them to remember those faces, because they would be back.

As his dad walked Kate and her boys to the kiddie rides. Charles and Rylan talked Rylan’s dad, Ben Walthers, into going with them and riding the wooden roller coaster, Patches. Rylan told his dad that he’d been there all that time and he hadn’t ridden any of the rides with him, and he wanted him to ride that one with him.

Ben told the boys that he wasn’t going to wait in line to ride. Rylan told his dad that he was the President of TFE and that he should have some pull and be able to go up the Exit and ride any time he wanted. Ben sort of told the boys that it wasn’t the way it worked.

Charles spoke up and said that isn’t the way his dad sees it, and they should walk up the Exit and see. So, the three walked to the wooden roller coaster and up the Exit to Patches. Ben was going to walk right in, but Charles told him he needed to wait until the ride operator acknowledged them.

The ride attendants first noticed Charles and Rylan and an older man with them and told the ride operator. The ride operator motioned them in when the coaster train had stopped and was unloading. Rylan and his dad took the front seat of the first car, while Charles told the ride operator that the man was the President of Three Finger Entertainment, which oversaw all five of his dad’s amusement parks.

The ride operator laughed and told the Cover that he better remember that face for the future. Charles told him that he’d better, as he will be back for an inspection later in the year. Charles then jumped in the second seat, first car before the turnstiles were opened for the rest of the coaster train to be filled.

Ken and Kate took Rusty and Jessy to the Carousel and they rode with them. The boys enjoyed having one of the adults stand alongside them, as the horse they chose went up and down while the carousel went around and around.

The Tea Cups were next. Mr. Ken explained to the boys that they had to turn the center wheel to make the tea cup spin, as it went around on the ride. The boys had the right idea, but Jessy wasn’t all that strong yet, so they didn’t get the tea cup spinning all that fast. But they had a good time anyways.

The boys loved riding Daffy’s Bus Stop, next. It was a yellow school bus that looked like one that they would take to school. They sat in the bus and when the ride operator started it, the bus went forward and it went up and around in a circle. It was a simple ride, but it went high enough that the boys felt that they were really high,as if they were on the Frogger.

When it came time to ride Peter’s Dragon, each boy took their own dragon and when they pulled back on the handle the dragon went up and when the pushed forward the dragon went down. The boys continually made their dragon go up and down the entire ride and they laughed the entire time.

Ken wanted to allow the boys to ride the Kiddie Coaster, but Charles and Rylan, who he wanted to ride with the younger boys, had taken off with Ben, and they were nowhere to be seen. Ken and Kate looked over the ride that was only 12 feet high, had a track length of 380 feet, reached a top speed of about 17 mph as it twisted and turned through the beautiful landscaping. They stood there trying to decide if the boys could go on it by themselves.

But as they were discussing that, Charles and Rylan came over to them and began telling them about their ride on Patches with Rylan’s dad, Ben. Ben had to defend himself, though, as he told Ken and Kate that he had never ridden that coaster before, and he wasn’t ready to be sitting in the front seat of the first car, and that he was caught by surprise when they went over that first hill.

Ben, in his further defense, did say that they rode it again, and that second time he knew what to expect. He then told Ken and Kate that he thoroughly enjoyed Patches and he felt that the I&R company did a great job in rejuvenating it. He did mention that the coaster could use a little more pizzaz and he was glad that the same company was coming back at the end of the season to make a few more changes.

Ken then asked the teenagers to ride with Rusty and Jessy on the Kiddie Coaster, which the teens gleefully agreed to. They wanted to ride it the other day, but they felt they were a bit too big to ride it. So, now they got the chance to.

The ride supervisor was still following along with the group, and had gone ahead of Charles, Rylan, Rusty and Jessy up the Exit to smooth their way onto the next ride. But the ride operator knew who Charles and Rylan were and he would have let them in without the ride supervisor. So, the four did ride the next coaster train and Rusty and Jessy both laughed and cheered as they went around the coaster track three times before the ride was over.

Kate looked at the time and hinted to Ken that they probably should head back to the hotel and stop along the way and get the boys something to eat, and then to bed. Charles heard them talking and spoke up and suggested that they let him and Rylan take the boys on one last ride, The Whip.

Charles argued that it was a unique ride that isn’t at any of his dad’s other parks and they wouldn’t ever get a chance to ride it again, unless they came back here. He then said that they all should ride it and then call it a night.

Ken did say that the ride was along the way back to the operations building, and one last ride wasn’t going to hurt. He then told Kate that they haven’t ridden anything themselves and this would be a good time. Kate laughed and said she’d think about it once she saw the ride.

Kate saw that the ride was very tame and she knew that the boys would love to ride that. So, she agreed to let Charles and Rylan take each of the boys on the ride and that she and Ken would also share a ride car. Ben said he’d stay outside and watch.

The ride supervisor was still with the group and had gone to the ride operator and told him to allow the group to load through the Exit. She told the operator that the man was the park’s owner and the two younger boys were his and that he should remember his face, as he will be back.

When the ride started, the two younger boys were excited to be on a ride that they had never seen before. Rusty and Charles were in one ride car and Jessy and Rylan were in the next one. Kate and Ken were in the ride car behind the two boys, so that way they could watch the boys as they went around the 180-degree turn. They wanted to see the looks on their faces and that first turn was priceless for Kate to see.

And as the ride car moved along the long center island, it moved back and forth and it gave the boys a chance to giggle some. But it was when the car went around the 180-degree turn to go back down to where they started that the boys first got a scared look on their faces, and then they laughed at being pushed back into their seats.

Kate loved seeing the boys’ first impression, as they went around that 180-degree turn. Then when it was her turn, she not only got pushed into the seat but she also got pushed into Ken. She loved that she got to do that, and she grabbed for his hand and held it the rest of the ride.

The two young boys giggled as they waited to go around the turn again and they laughed as they did it again, and again. Kate, too, loved going around the turn as she got to be close to Ken.

When the ride was over the boys thanked the teens for riding with them, and then they ran to their mom and hugged her for letting them come to the park with Mr. Ken. The group then made their way to the operations building where Ken, Kate and the boys headed out to get something to eat and put the boys to bed.

It was decided to let Charles stay with Jason that last night, since all of his clothes were at the man’s place and the two were going to be at the park first thing in the morning to make sure everything was ready for the ten o’clock Grand Re-Opening ceremony. Ben and Rylan also headed to their hotel and they too would stop for a bite to eat on their way back to their hotel.

It had been a long day for Ken, Kate and the boys, so when the four went to their hotel, they went directly to their rooms and then went to bed. Ken needed to be at the park by 9:30, so he definitely wanted to be rested for the ceremony, so he decided not to visit the downstairs lounge for a few adult’s drinks before bed.

When the Cover boys went up to bed, Mr. Wayne stopped by as either their ‘dad’, or he, did to say goodnight. When the Estate Master stopped at Phillip’s bedroom, Phillip asked him if he thought that his mom would do all of the training courses the judge had ordered.

Mr. Wayne was taken aback by the question. So, he asked, “Phillip … why would you think that your mom might not want to complete the training classes?”

Phillip sat there for a few moments and then said. “Oh … it was just a thought that came to me. She … she did what she wanted to do and I was just wondering if you thought that … she would want to complete the training, so we could be back together again. That’s all.”

“Phillip … I would think that your mom … that she would want to get back with her son after everything that has happened to her. She knows that it was her staying away from you that caused all of this to happen,” began Mr. Wayne, but was interrupted by Phillip.

“Yea … if she hadn’t left me, then Rafael … then he would have come to me for his gun and gotten it and then she … and then she wouldn’t have been hurt, and I … and I wouldn’t be living here,” offered the smiling boy.

Mr. Wayne just smiled and told the boy to not forget to drain his dragon and to sleep well.

Mr. Wayne then went to his room, but along the way Collin asked him if he was going to stop at his room, too. The two had a good laugh over that and the two talked for a few minutes before they both turned in for the night.

The Covers, wherever they were that Friday night, slept well.

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

137,408 views