Published: 8 Aug 2024

From The Previous Chapter:

‘Dad’ Ken walked down the stairs to his own retreat to get ready for bed. He thought back to the discussion he had with Robert and knew that as the boys got older their desire to travel with him everywhere might wane. He knew he should start to look at alternatives in the coming years for them to stay home, while he and the younger boys traveled.

After getting ready for bed, Ken Thomas checked that his alarm clock was set to wake him at his usual morning time, and then he laid down in his big king-sized bed. He loved the life that he had and what the boys had added to it. He was hoping that he could add Kate to it someday, too.

The Cove was quiet the whole night through and everyone slept well.

Momma Maria had Mr. Ken’s newspaper waiting for him at his usual Kitchen Nook table seat and she also had the coffee hot and would pour him his first cup of coffee, as soon as the man walked into the Nook.

“Good morning, Momma,” offered a cheerful Ken Thomas, who went immediately to his usual seat at the Nook’s table that looked out the window onto the lake.

Momma Maria brought the man his first cup of hot coffee and placed it before him. Mr. Ken thanked the woman for it and as he took the first sip, he raised it to her by way of a salute for her kindness.

Mr. Ken then took the newspaper out of its protective sleeve and began to separate it into its sections, as he usually did, before he began to read it. Once he had that done, he took Section A and upon looking at the headlines, he noticed a small teaser line above the Masthead:

Mr. Ken wanted to know what that was all about, so he went immediately to the Local Section of the newspaper, Section B, and read the article. Upon reading the story, the owner of The Cove learned that the third lawsuit against the alarm company was filed yesterday on the behalf of the Goldersons’ young son.

Reading further, Mr. Ken garnered that the lawsuit was filed due to the Goldersons’ young son being in the safe room, during the whole home invasion, pressing the non-functioning panic button that did not summon the police for over two hours. The lawsuit also contends that during that entire time, the young ten-year-old had to listen to his foster brother being beaten, mercilessly, by the three men who invaded the Goldersons’ home.

Mr. Ken sat back after reading the article and wondered what the status of Bill’s own lawsuit was against that same alarm company. But then again, he knew that Bill Jackson was a great lawyer, and he knew the man would call him when he had any news about the suit. Mr. Ken continued to read the newspaper from Section A, and drink his coffee.

The boys were surprised that their ‘dad’ was still at home when they began arriving in the Kitchen Nook for their breakfast. They asked him if he was playing ‘hooky’ from work, and then they laughed.

The boy’s ‘dad’ told them that he was meeting with Ben Walthers and Nelson Sanders at Four Corners at nine o’clock to talk about the ‘soft’ opening of the amusement park that would begin that weekend. Then looking at the time, Mr. Ken said that he’d better get a move on. The man then got up from the table, told the boys that he’d see them at dinner, then the boys’ ‘dad’ was gone.

Momma had the boys sit at the table, but Phillip told the woman he needed to take care of Chief’s bowls first. Momma smiled at the young Cover and told him to go ahead, and then to wash his hands before coming to the table.

Chief watched Phillip wash out the two bowls and then fill one with the new kibble that was designed to give her good nutrition, because she was going to have a litter of puppies. Then she watched as the boy filled the second bowl with fresh water, and then he put some ice cubes in it.

Chief so loved having ice cubes in her water and when Phillip put that bowl down Chief went to it and lapped up the now ice-cold water. Then, as soon as she had done that she went to the boy and gave him lots of cold doggie kisses. Phillip giggled as he received the cold kisses and then he scratched behind the resident pet’s ears. Momma then reminded the boy to wash his hands again.

As the boys ate, they talked about last night’s discussion about them getting jobs as they got older. Billy told them that he likes that he is making money, working on the estate walls. The teenager added that it will be enough, so that when they visit the amusement parks again and come back, it will almost be time for school to start and then he won’t have to worry about juggling his schoolwork and a part-time job.

Robert told his ‘brothers’ that he wants to work at a part-time job and working at Four Corners would be ideal, because it is close to home, and he knows the owner. The boys all laughed. But the fifteen-year-old continued and told them it was something inside of him that was telling him that he needs to earn his way; to work somehow.

Charles told his ‘brothers’ that when he was at Edgewood, soon to be Adventure Forest, he talked to Mr. Jason about wanting to work at the amusement park and learn all about the different park operations, when he turned sixteen.

The fourteen-year-old told them that Mr. Zimms told him that he would be happy to have him come and work there when he is sixteen, and he would begin to train him in all of the different park operations like, ride operations, food service, park admissions, and maybe revenue.

Charles also told his ‘brothers’ that when he goes off to college he wants to study how to plan, build and operate amusement parks. He added that when he finishes college, he wants to work at one of his dad’s parks and learn all of the inside functions of ride maintenance, commissary control of hot and cold foods and paper products, public relations, worker scheduling and more.

Matthew told his ‘brothers’ that all he hopes for is that ‘dad’ can make this his forever home. He told them how his mom won’t sign the release papers, as his dad has, to allow him to be adopted. The pre-teen told them that his mom and Lincoln beat him and mistreated him so badly that he can’t see why the judge will let her still have him when she gets out of prison.

Billy saw the tears falling out of his young ‘brothers’ eyes, and he went over to him and hugged him. The teenager told him that he has to let ‘dad’ Ken work his magic, and to not give up hope. Billy reminded him that his foster dad went all the way out to Colorado and fought for him, so he has to know that he will fight for him against his mom here, too.

Matthew thanked his big ‘brother’ for saying that. His other ‘brothers’ came over to him and they all shared a group hug. Momma watched from afar and knew that the five ‘brothers’ were good for one another.

By that time Mr. Chris and Mr. Wayne had arrived at The Cove and they were in the Kitchen Nook and heard what the boys were talking about. But neither one said anything. They just kept a mental note of what was said and figured they would talk to their boss the first chance they had to let him know what the boys were thinking, and how they felt about things as a whole.

Mr. Ken met Ben Walthers and Nelson Sanders at the trailer office that they had rented until a proper operations building was built. Upon entering the office, Mr. Ken immediately noticed that Nelson was wearing a distinctive polo shirt, with the words Four Corners Amusement Park embroidered on the left breast.

“Nice shirt there, Nelson. And I like the color,” commented Mr. Ken.

“Oh, yea, Ben and I … we decided that we would need a shirt for the employees and … well, we ordered these. Ben said that you were partial to green, so we went with the hunter green. It might be a bit too dark, but when worn with khaki shorts, or pants, it works. Anyway, after a while, we’ll probably come up with a better color,” replied Nelson.

The meeting that morning was being held so the three men were all on the same page when it came to how they would conduct the ‘soft’ opening of the Four Corners Amusement Park.

Before they started the meeting, Mr. Ken mentioned to Nelson that he heard that he was to have interviewed four fifteen-year-olds last evening. Nelson said that he had, and he pulled out the four applications and said that he had interviewed a Logan Anderson, Trevor Fletcher, Gordon Thomason and Joshua (Josh) Xions.

Nelson told the two men that he was totally impressed with Logan Anderson. He declared that he wished he had a dozen teenagers like him. Nelson continued to say how well the teen communicated with him, was interested in learning more than just one position and asked how soon he could start working and how many hours could he get.

The operations manager went on to tell the bosses that if he works out, as he believes he would, he would eventually make him a lead supervisor, because he professes a maturity that is far above a person of his age.

Mr. Ken told Nelson that he personally knew Logan. The owner of the park told the ops manager that the teen was an Eagle Scout, and just last year he was awarded the Boy Scouts of America Life Saving Medal for his role in helping save a boy’s life out on the lake about two years ago. Both men nodded to one another at hearing about Logan’s achievements.

Mr. Ken continued and told the men how Logan worked for him during the Grand Opening of his Boat Storage Lot. Mr. Ken told the two men that he listened to the teen talk to potential renters of the storage slots and that even the manager there told him that the teen was a born salesman, because of his communication skills. Mr. Ken then asked Nelson if he hired all four teens.

Nelson said he had and that they would be there at twelve noon, along with all of the other people he hired for an orientation, along with all of the men and women who will be the ride, refreshment, revenue and section supervisors. A total of forty-five people in all.

Ken Thomas was surprised at the number and had Nelson explain why so many. The park’s operations manager explained that he had to have shifts of people, as they couldn’t be expected work more than eight hours a day and seven days straight. He added that he’ll probably have to add a few more eventually.

Nelson told Mr. Ken that the new hires will fill out their W-4’s, the Employee’s Withholding Certificate, and then he’ll walk everyone around the entire park to orient them and then he plans to set up the five games booths. He told the men that the four teens, and one other teen, will work those to begin with.

With those two unintended agenda items covered, the men got down to talking how they wanted to affect the ‘soft’ opening of the park, so Nelson knew how many people he should bring on to work on a day-by-day basis.

They also discussed what price they needed to charge. There were five dedicated children’s rides and four rides that families could ride, so they came up with a Ride-All-Day price they felt was fair for both adults and children.

The ops manager also explained that he didn’t intend to have a large refreshment menu to begin with, but that today they will also set the refreshment stands up with the cups and individual priced items, such as cotton candy and chips, etc. He also said that the soda companies were supposed to arrive today to set up their machines and the ice machines were supposed to be turned on, as well.

Nelson did mention to his bosses that they will eventually have to have at least a six-foot fence built around the entire park to keep people away from the train tracks. Mr. Ken laughed at hearing that, as it was something that he hadn’t even considered when he wanted the train to go around the Go-Kart Track and Miniature Golf Course, as well.

The owner of the park told Ben and Nelson to go ahead and get some quotes for whatever they would need. But he told them to make sure that the fence looked good. He then asked about the progress of the track installation. Nelson told the man that the contractor was working on the back side of the property and was grading the right-of-way.

At the end of their meeting, it was decided to let Nelson open the rides, as he felt his employees could handle the throng of guests without sacrificing safety. Mr. Ken and Mr. Ben told the ops manager that the new employees hadn’t worked the rides long enough to push through large number of riders, and so he was to ensure they work deliberately through their procedures before engaging the START button.

Nelson said he understood their directions and would impart them on the ride operators and ride supervisors during their orientation today. He then asked when they thought they would have the official Grand Opening.

Ken Thomas thought about the question and then told him that they should wait and see how the public takes to the park, and also how well the employees interact with them. The park’s owner added that if things go as well, as he expects them to, the official Grand Opening should happen the last weekend of that month.

Nelson thanked both men for the discussion and their direction. He felt that it clarified a number of issues and told him that he had their full support, as he opened the brand-new Four Corners Amusement Park.

Then, as the three men exited the office trailer, Nelson told his bosses that he was opening some of the rides tonight, so the ride operators, game booth and refreshment stand workers could get some real-world experience. He reasoned that if the public sees that some of the rides are working, the game booths are open and the refreshment stands are selling foods they might come up and try them out. Nelson said for him that constitutes what a ‘soft’ opening was all about.

Mr. Ken and Mr. Ben went over to the Four Corners Restaurant for lunch. They talked about how Nelson was working out as the operations manager and how handicapped he is setting up a brand-new park. Ken told Ben that if Nelson needs help, he should get over there and offer to help him.

Ben Walthers told his boss that Nelson had reached out to him for guidance and they have worked through those issues. Ben gave him some examples, such as the polo shirts, the storage shipping container for the game prizes and non-perishable food stuffs, the cold storage unit, and how many people he should hire at the start.

Ben explained to his boss that this was a daunting task to set up, from scratch, a brand-new park and that Nelson hit the task running. Ben told Mr. Ken that, to be honest, they should have given the man three to four months to do what he’s been asked to do in less than two, and without an office and support staff, like administrative people, that he should have had at the onset.

Mr. Ken sat there thinking back at the roadblocks he had inadvertently put in front of Nelson. His desire to have the Four Corners Amusement Park ready to go that summer caused him to forget that there was a lot more to it than just buying the rides and putting them in place. He now realizes he went through with the project without thinking this whole thing through.

As the two left the restaurant, Mr. Ken told Ben that they’ll probably have to give Nelson a big Bonus for getting the park together and ready as fast as he did. Ken had wanted to go over there now that the new hires would be there. But Ben told him that would not be the proper thing to do right then, as it would disrupt Nelson’s train of thought and he didn’t need to be there anyway.

Ken told Ben that while he was in that area, he intended to check on his marina project and that he would see him back at the office. Ken Thomas then drove over to his marina venture to see how far along the building, restrooms and paving of the parking lot was coming along. He was hoping that everything was on schedule, so that the entire project would be opening in August as he had planned. He was pleased at what he saw and heard from the site supervisor.

Over at The Cove, Robert was surprised when four of his friends didn’t show up. He called Logan to only learn that he, Trevor, Josh and Gordon were at the Four Corners Amusement Park and had been hired to work there and were now going through orientation and that he’d have to talk to him later, and then hung up. Robert was dismayed at that revelation.

Robert also told the rest of the boys that they needed to start building the new lockers, so they could replace the ones that were ruined by all the bullet holes. The Cover reminded everyone that they helped build them originally, so this time around it shouldn’t be too difficult. The boys said that they’d try to work at it tomorrow.

Now, with four teenagers working at the new Four Corners Amusement Park, that would change up the cook teams. Robert and Eric looked over the team schedule and asked if the those four were missing would it cause any problems. To a one. the teams said they could handle the barbeque with one man down, as they do when someone is on vacation.

Phillip told his bandmates that his dad was going to buy them the sheet music they had chosen. He explained that he doesn’t get an allowance, and because of that his ‘dad’, Mr. Ken, said that he would buy them for him. The seven boys thought that was great.

Phillip told them that he had already gotten with Mr. Wayne to have him either go to the local music shop, or to order them off the internet. He told them he didn’t know how the Estate Master was going to get them, but that he’d find out later when the man came up for lunch.

The talk at the barbeque that afternoon was that Logan, Gordon, Trevor and Josh all had jobs at the Four Corners Amusement Park. Nobody knew what jobs they were hired for, but some of the other fifteen-year-olds talked about trying to apply for a job there now, too. They asked Robert if he could talk to his dad about getting them a job. But the Cover teen told them that the park’s Operations Manager would do the hiring, and his dad wouldn’t interfere with that.

Phillip did ask Mr. Wayne about the sheet music. The Estate Master told the youngster that he had ordered the sheet music over the internet, and that he felt that it should be there either by Saturday, or Monday at the latest. Phillip thanked the man and then went and told his friends what he had learned.

The seven boys, after they had eaten, helped clean up, and then they all headed down to the Men’s Locker Room to change into their swimsuits and go swimming. By now, they were all used to seeing one another in their all-together and they easily changed in front of one another without any hesitation, or embarrassment.

Then, as soon as they were all ready, they all put on a life vest and swam out to the water toys to play. Jordan had been driving the Sea-Doo and pulling the three-seat water tube behind it, and when he saw Phillip and the band members playing on the water toys, he went over to them and asked them if they wanted to ride.

The boys knew what that meant, but they went anyway and enjoyed the ride and being dumped into the lake’s waters. They all took a turn or two before going back to the Jungle Joe II to bask in the warm waters inside the lower section.

After resting for a while, the bandmembers all went back inside to change. Phillip then put their swimsuits and towels in the dryer, and they all went back up to the Pavilion and began to play. And if you asked them, they were all having a fun summer.

When Mr. Ken arrived back at the office, he decided to call Kate. But she was with a client, so he called Amy Ozarker, the lawyer. Amy told him that Kate had given her the names of Lane’s closest friends in high school, and she had her investigator looking for them.

Amy also told Ken that if her investigator finds them, he will ask them if they know of any proof that Lane might have that shows Kate was with other men, or other high school teenagers, during their high school years.

After Mr. Ken and Amy finished talking, Ken tried calling Kate again, and this time he was able to talk to her. They talked about their past few days. Kate told her boyfriend that her boys were still wondering about whether or not Lane was Rusty’s real dad.

Ken gingerly asked Kate if she thought any more about what she would do if the paternity test shows that Lane isn’t Rusty’s dad. Kate told him that she would probably cry, and hard. Then she told him that she would try to get Lane to tell her who else he let have their way with her that night, so she could get their DNA and go after them.

Ken told her that he hopes that it doesn’t go that way, but that if it does, he told her that the way the judge acted towards Lane that he will probably light into him and revoke his probation and then, after that, who knows what the judge might say, or do.

Ken then changed the topic and told Kate about the Four Corners Amusement Park and their planned ‘soft’ opening that coming weekend and how far along the marina project was. Ken, before he hung up with her, also reminded her that he would be with her next week and to keep her hopes up that everything will work out for the best.

At dinner that night at The Cove, Robert told his dad that Logan, Gordon, Trevor and Josh all got jobs at his amusement park. The teen’s dad said that he knew that, as he was at the park today in a meeting with Mr. Ben and Mr. Nelson, and that Mr. Nelson said that he had hired the four teens he interviewed last evening.

Then when dinner was over and the boys began heading to the Study, ‘dad’ Ken told them that they were going over to Four Corners to see if Mr. Nelson did indeed start the ‘soft’ opening of the amusement park tonight, as he said he might, at their meeting today. The boys all hurried to the garage and into the van. Billy drove. Mr. Wayne followed in his own vehicle.

When the Covers arrived at Four Corners, they saw that a few of the rides were indeed operating and the game booths were all open and the one refreshment stand did have some things for sale. The seven Covers all walked into the Four Corners Amusement Park to check everything out.

This was the first time that they all, including Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne, got to see what the new amusement park looked like finished, up close, and they all liked what they saw. They liked the way the walkways were paved, and that there were park benches for people to sit and relax. They saw that there were also shaded picnic areas where people could go to eat their food, if they wanted.

One noticeable thing that the Covers did observe was that there were no real shade trees to speak of. And even though there were trees planted, it would be years before they produced any appreciable amount of shade for the park guests.

The one thing that the boys did want to see were the rides that were in operation. And they saw that the children’s rides, the Helicopters, Kiddie Swings, Frog Hopper, Monster Trucks and the Speedway, which was like the Whip at Edgewood, were all open, and the only family ride, the Tilt-A-Whirl, was also open.

The boys quickly went over to the game booths and watched as their friends, Logan, Gordan, Trevor and Josh were all working them. The boys then asked their ‘dad’ if they could have some money to play the games.

Mr. Ken laughed to himself, forgetting that he, when he went over there, would have to shell out some money for the boys to play the games and ride the rides, they were big enough for.

The Balloon Blast, a water pistol game that had the shooter aim his water pistol into a target and the one whose balloon filled first, won. The “Soft Opening Special” cost for one game was $2.00 or 3 games for $5.00 per player. No sharing allowed as the sign also said.

Mr. Ken took out a twenty- and a five-dollar bill, so the five boys could play the game three times, each. Billy gave Trevor the money and the game operator marked the seats showing that the players paid for three games.

The Covers were not just playing against themselves, though. There were other people at the amusement park that night, too, checking it out and they, too, sat down and paid their $2.00 to play. So, when the game started there were eleven people sitting at the sixteen seats of the Balloon Blast.

The game was over in about twenty seconds once Trevor pressed the button that sounded a bell indicating the game had started. The boys all cheered on their balloon, as it filled with water. But none of the Covers won. A young boy at the end won a small plush animal. But the Covers still had two more games they could play.

Other people paid their $2.00 to play the next two games and the Covers only won one of them. Matthew took home a small plush animal for his bedroom.

The boys asked if they could play some of the other games. Mr. Ken told the boys to choose from the Balloon Darts, where they had to burst three balloons to win, the Ring Toss on the Glass Bottle, the Ball in a Cup, or Ring the Bell Tower. The boy’s ‘dad’ told them that they could each only chose two of them.

Phillip chose to try the Balloon Dart game. He figured it couldn’t be that hard to burst three balloons, since there were loads of them on the backboard. And, actually, he won his first time out and won a small plush animal to take home for his bedroom. Gordon was working that game.

Billy challenged Robert and Charles to the Ring the Bell Tower. Logan was working that game and when he saw his three friends coming over to the Bell Tower, he asked him if they thought they could ring the bell.

Billy told Logan that he challenged Robert and Charles and he gave Logan $6.00 for the three of them. Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne stood back and watched. Billy, the challenger, went first. He selected from the two hammers they had for the person to choose from, and then he approached the lever and lifted the hammer and swung it down. The hammer hit the lever and the weight went up the slide, but it never rang the bell. Robert and Charles laughed.

Robert went next. He chose the other hammer and approached the lever differently, but he didn’t have any better luck. Then, when it was Charles’ turn, he selected the smaller hammer, and seeing where his ‘brothers’ had hit the lever, he chose to hit it elsewhere. So, when he swung the hammer and hit it where he had intended, he rang the bell. The teen then turned and smiled at his older ‘brothers’. He accepted the small plush prize for his efforts.

Matthew decided to try the Ball in the Cup game. The young Cover got five balls for his $2.00 and the idea was to try to get one of the big whiffle balls in either a red, blue or gold cup. It looked easy, but the ball would bounce when he threw it on the playing field of over 375 cups and then rolled around. The Cover had five chances to win. He didn’t win on any of his tosses.

Matthew then took his chances at the Balloon Darts. He didn’t have any luck there, either. Charles also took his chances at the Balloon Darts, but he only burst two balloons and he couldn’t figure how he didn’t burst the third one. But he, too, didn’t get another plush prize.

Billy and Robert wanted to try the Ring Toss, but they each only had $2.00 and a small bucket of plastic rings cost $5.00, so together they needed another $1.00. So, Mr. Wayne volunteered it and that way the two teenagers could try their luck.

The small bucket of plastic rings had about twenty-five rings in it. The teen’s each took a ring out of the bucket and threw it out to the glass bottles hoping they would get at least one ring on the neck of the bottle. Mr. Wayne reached in and took a few rings and threw them. He didn’t have any better luck than the two older Cover teens did. In the end, they didn’t win a plush prize, either.

The Covers did get a chance to talk to their friends when there weren’t any people playing at their game booths. The Covers commented that they liked their dark green polo shirts with the Four Corners Amusement Park name on it and them wearing beige shorts. The four friends told the Covers that they were placed on the payroll beginning at twelve noon. They also told their Cover friends that they had a two-hour dinner break and had only been working at the game booths since five o’clock and they closed at nine that night.

The boys asked their dad if they could ride the Speedway. They told him that it looked like fun. But earlier at his meeting with Ben and Nelson, the three hadn’t discussed the price of a single ride, so he told them that he couldn’t buy single tickets.

Just then, Nelson Sanders came over to the Covers. He heard what they were talking about and he told Mr. Ken that they should have made that decision, as many people had asked that same question when they came to the park. So, he told his boss that he told everyone that as a Soft Opening Special Price it would be 2 rides for $5.00 if they only wanted to ride the Speedway and the Tilt-A-Whirl. Mr. Ken thanked the man for his quick thinking.

But the man didn’t have twenty-five dollars, or thirty-five dollars for the seven of them to ride left in his wallet. All he had left was a twenty-dollar bill after spending forty-five dollars for the boys to play all of the games. He usually used his credit card for large purchases. So, he asked Nelson if he was set up to accept credit cards. Nelson smiled and told the man to follow him.

Ten minutes later the Covers, including Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne, had their tickets, so they could ride the Speedway and the Tilt-A-Whirl. Nelson went with them to those rides, and when the next ride was set to go, he made sure that they were all on the ride. He also told the ride operators who that man and those kids were, and to especially remember that the man was the owner of the park.

The Speedway was sort of a smaller version of the Whip, and it was faster as it went around its narrow oval central power hub. The boys laughed as the Speedway car went around the ends. Mr. Ken felt the speed of the turn and he agreed it was a bit faster and somewhat better than the Whip. But he preferred the Whip, as a ride, as he could sit with Kate and enjoy sitting with her on the long runs between the end turns.

When the Covers rode the Tilt-A-Whirl, the boys wanted to fill the ride cars with enough weight so the car would spin more. All except Phillip, that is. But with only seven Covers and Phillip not wanting to spin a lot, the cars were filled with Mr. Ken and Phillip, Mr. Wayne and Matthew and then Billy, Robert and Charles.

The Covers had fun riding the Tilt-A-Whirl. Billy, Robert and Charles loved all the spinning they got with the weight the three of them had in their ride car. Mr. Wayne and Matthew had a fun ride, with just the two of them in their car. Even Mr. Ken and Phillip enjoyed the gentle spinning they got from the minimum weight the two of them added to their ride car.

When the ride was over, Phillip hugged his ‘dad’ and told him that he never had someone like him to do stuff like that with him. The boy added that even though he did ride the rides at his amusement parks with Mr. Dan and Mr. Dennis, it felt so much different when he did it with him, just now.

Mr. Ken hugged the youngest Cover back. He understood that the boy never knew his dad, and this was the closest he ever got to experiencing the joys of doing ‘father and son’ things. Mr. Ken then inwardly hoped that when Phillip and his mother finally were reunited, that Mackenzie would pay more attention to her son, and not go back to leaving him home alone.

After the ride, the Covers walked over to the only open refreshment stand to see what they offered. They saw that they had two sizes of soda and eight different flavors, as well as Churros, soft pretzels, cotton candy in a bag and individual bags of different types of chips.

The boys asked if they each could get a soda and a soft pretzel. “Dad’ Ken asked them if they wanted that, or a Mr. Ken’s Kreamy Kone sundae instead. The boys now had a big decision to make trying to decide, which one was the better deal. They all chose the soda and soft pretzel, telling their ‘dad’ that they don’t get a soft pretzel all that often. Mr. Ken hoped that they took credit cards.

As the boys sat and enjoyed their soda and soft pretzel, Mr. Ken reintroduced Wayne to Nelson, just in case he didn’t remember him from the Memorial Day Picnic. The three men talked about the park and how well it looked at night, and at the surprising number of people who were there with their small children.

Nelson told the men that tomorrow night he will open one of the other family rides, but not the Tilt-A-Whirl. He added that some of the other hires will also be working to get the feel of the park and people coming there. Nelson said he hoped by Friday night that he will have the second refreshment stand open and that both would be serving hot dogs.

Nelson Sanders told Mr. Ken and Wayne that he would slowly add to the refreshment stands menu, over time, to allow the staff time to get used to working the windows and dealing with the guests and the handling of money and credit cards. He reminded them that many of these new employees haven’t done anything like this before, and they need to work their way into it.

Once they were back at The Cove, ‘dad’ Ken reminded Bill, Robert and Charles that they needed to be down in the Kitchen Nook showered and dressed and in time for them to have a light breakfast before he drove them over to the testing facility. He told the boys that they would be leaving at 8:15, so they should plan around that time.

It was then that Robert told his dad that their friends said that they would try to build one of the new lockers tomorrow. The teen’s dad smiled at hearing that and he told his son to remind him in the morning and that he’d have Mr. Wayne and Mr. Dennis help the boys get started.

Matthew asked his ‘dad’ how long the test would take. ‘Dad’ Ken told the pre-teen that it is not exactly a test, but more of an assessment of who they are. The assessment will take them as long as it takes, as there were no right or wrong answers and no time limit.

Mr. Ken explained that the career assessment is of the individual’s thoughts and ideas and feelings towards certain things that they will be asked about.

“This assessment, Matthew, will help your ‘brothers’ decide what they want to be when they grow up,” now teased ‘dad’ Ken.

Mr. Ken then sent the boys up to their rooms, and told them that he’d be up there shortly.

When Mr. Ken went up to visit with the boys, he started at Bill’s room, as he usually did. He told the teenager that tomorrow’s assessment will help him focus on his future, but for him not to over think the questions. The foster dad told the teen to just answer the questions for the way he felt.

Billy thanked his foster dad for thinking about him and treating him like he was one of the ‘family’, and mostly like one of his ‘sons’. Mr. Ken smiled and then pulled the teen into a hug. Billy really enjoyed the close contact he had with his foster dad. It showed him that what he just said was what actually happened between the two.

‘Dad’ Ken told Robert and Charles basically the same thing about not overthinking the questions tomorrow, but to answer them the way they felt about them. The two sons thanked their dad for wanting them to get a feel for what they wanted to be ‘when they grew up’. They all had a good laugh over that.

‘Dad’ Ken stopped at Matthew’s room to see how the pre-teen was doing. Matthew told his ‘dad’ that everything was going well for him and until his mom was about to come out of prison, he won’t have any worries. ‘Dad’ Ken hugged the boy and told him to keep an open mind about staying there at The Cove, and that he was doing everything he could to make it happen.

In Phillip’s room, the young Cover thanked his ‘dad’ for having Mr. Wayne buy the sheet music for him and the band. The boy said that his mom would never do anything like that for him, and that living there has been the best thing that has ever happened to him in his life.

Mr. Ken hugged the boy and told him that he’s enjoyed having him there and when he leaves, he will still be a Cover and that he will be welcomed back just as Mark is. That made Phillip smile knowing he had someplace he could look forward to going to and visiting.

Mr. Ken scratched behind Chief’s ears before going down to his own retreat.

It was a busy day for all of the Covers. When they each finally lay down in their own beds it didn’t take long for them to fall asleep. Another quiet night was had in The Cove 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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