Published: 6 Feb 2025

From the Previous Chapter:

“Phil … I asked dad to take us out to breakfast tomorrow but, get this, he asked for a rain check,” announced Charles, with a big smile on his face. “So, I gave him one. But he promised to take us out next Sunday,” continued the smiling teenager.

Phillip thanked his ‘brother’ for telling him why everyone was in his room. Then, the young Cover, with a yawn, told everyone goodnight and headed to his own bedroom.

‘Dad’ Ken took that as a chance to tell the rest of the boy’s good night again and then gave them all one last goodnight hug. The man then headed down to his own retreat where he hoped he would get a good night’s sleep, in his own bed, after staying at the Lakeside Hotel the last four nights.

Sunday morning Ken Thomas woke up later than he would normally. The man figured it was because he needed the rest, and that he was also sleeping in his own bed. The owner of The Cove got out of his wonderful bed, took care of his morning needs, dressed and then headed outside to retrieve his Sunday morning newspaper.

But before the man could sit down and enjoy his first cup of coffee, and his morning newspaper, he knew he needed to feed the puppies. He now wished he had retrieved their bowls the night before, because as soon as he went down to the Great Room to pick them up the pups knew what that meant, and they all began to bark out in their squeaky barking voices.

The man quickly fixed the puppies morning meal and very carefully took the seven bowls down to the Great Room, where the pups patiently waited. And as soon as the bowls were placed on the floor the pups attacked the food.

Mr. Ken knew that he had to get the water bowls filled so they had something to wash their food down with, so he took the bowls into the party Men’s Restroom and filled them from there, as it would be quicker than taking them back up to the Kitchen Nook.

Chief watched over her young brood, and as they finished their meal, the pups mother barked her command at them to follow her outside, so they could evacuate their bowels and bladders. By then Ken Thomas had gone back up to the Kitchen Nook to get his first cup of hot coffee and begin reading about the news of the area he had missed, by being at his Second Annual Three Finger Entertainment Fall Meeting.

As soon as Mr. Ken got back up to the Kitchen Nook, he figured he’d get out eighteen breakfast tacos for the boys and himself, so that when the boys came down for breakfast, they would be ready for them all to have a warm morning meal.

Now looking at the time, the man saw that by fixing the puppies food and taking the time to ready the breakfast tacos, he was way behind in reading his newspaper, so he quickly poured a cup of coffee and began his ritual of separating the newspaper, as was his habit.

The first thing that caught the man’s eye was the minor headline about a suspicious vacant house fire in the lower county that had happened Friday night. Wanting to know more about the fire, and its origin, he turned to the article and learned that this was an unusual fire in the way it started.

Reading further the article additionally stated that the Fire Marshal would only reveal that the fire showed that it appeared to be set by an arsonist who used a rudimentary way of setting the fire, and that they would have to further investigate the rubble in the hopes of finding more clues as to who was behind the fire.

The man shook his head that someone was going around setting a fire to a vacant property, and said to himself that he hoped they would find the culprit soon, and put them away. Mr. Ken then went back to Section A and began reading his newspaper from the first page.

The boys began arriving in the Kitchen Nook a little after nine, and immediately they could smell the reheated breakfast tacos in the convection oven. Charles asked about the tacos and his dad told him to check to see if they were hot enough as the timer hadn’t gone off just yet.

The teen checked one breakfast taco and announced that it was warm enough on the ends but the middle still needed to get hot. The other boys asked Charles to pass them their three so that they could finish heating them up in the microwave oven. Dad Ken told his son to leave his tacos in the convection oven and let them finish heating there.

“Why are you going to do that, ‘dad?” asked Matthew.

“Well, ‘son’ by the time your ‘brothers’ get their tacos out of the wrappings, because they can’t heat them in the microwave in the aluminum foil, and then start the process, oh, and by the way the more they put into the microwave the longer it will take to heat them, mine will probably be done in the convection oven,” reasoned ‘dad’ Ken.

“OK, then keep mine in there too, Charles,” quickly spoke up the pre-teen, agreeing to keep his in the convection oven, too.

While the teenagers were getting their breakfast tacos out of the aluminum foil, and ready for the microwave, Matthew and Phillip were getting themselves a glass of either vanilla milk, or orange juice, to help wash their tacos down with. Then after getting a glass of his preferred drink, Phillip refilled his ‘dad’s’ coffee cup with hot coffee.

When all the breakfast tacos were finished heating in the microwave, and the teenagers were sitting down to eat, the convection oven timer went off. Matthew went over to it and placed three tacos on a plate for his ‘dad’, three on a plate for his ‘brother’ and then three on his own plate and then he sat down to his own breakfast.

As the ‘brothers’ sat there and ate, they looked at one another and snickered. It was Phillip who spoke up and said, “See, if you had waited just a few more minutes you wouldn’t have had to go and unwrap your tacos, and then wait longer for the microwave to heat them.” Matthew and Phillip then looked at one another and smiled a knowing smile.

All ‘dad’ Ken could do was smile behind his newspaper knowing what the younger Cover said was probably true. But he also knew that when a teenager’s stomach says it is hungry the teen will do whatever is necessary to get something in it to make it happy. What he didn’t see was the back-and-forth smile between the two younger Covers.

The boys cleaned up the Kitchen Nook after they’d eaten, and before they headed upstairs to get ready for the day, ‘dad’ Ken asked them to check on the pups. The five boys quickly headed down to the Great Room to find that Chief had her brood outside playing, so they all went outside to see if they could play with them some.

Upon seeing the boys, the puppies began yelping at them and began running towards them. The boys tried not to show favoritism towards anyone of the pups, but the puppies did have a favorite boy they liked and they ran towards that Cover.

The boys played with the puppies for about twenty minutes, before they all decided they had better go up and get their showers, and dressed for their day. The puppies, of course, were disappointed when they saw the boys leave them, but the resident pet knew that her family had been outside long enough, and after the playtime they would need a nap.

So, Chief barked at her family to follow her. Then just before the pups entered the Great Room, Chief barked again and all the pups stopped and peed before going through the doggie door, and into the house.

The puppies, once inside, ran over to where they usually slept and after getting themselves comfortable, all began to relax and go to sleep. Chief watched over her seven precious babies, and once she knew they were asleep she went up to the Kitchen Nook to see who might be up there.

“Well, hello Chief,” acknowledged the resident pets original master, when he saw her arrive in the Kitchen Nook. “Come over here and let me give you a few scratches behind your ears.”

Chief quickly went over to Mr. Ken and sat down and let the man scratch behind her ears. The resident pet just loved it whenever anyone scratched behind her ears. She didn’t know why, but from the very beginning, when either Mr. Ken or Ryan had done that, she just loved having that done to her.

After taking their showers and getting dressed, the boys headed up to the Pavilion to get their skateboard out of their locker, and then head on over to the Cove Skate Park, and enjoy the wide-open area for themselves before all of their friends arrived.

With Phillip practicing with his band practically every day, he never really used his skateboard all that often. So, getting the time to get out on the smooth concrete surface, without many people out there who could get in his way, was a treat for him, and he was taking advantage of it.

Billy watched his younger ‘brother’, as he skated, and told him that since he doesn’t skate all that often he needed someone to critique his style, and give him some advice on how to do things better. Phillip thanked his older ‘brother’ for pointing out what he was doing wrong, and letting him know what he could do, so he could do it better. The two worked on Phillip’s skating form until the younger Cover’s friends began to arrive.

That Sunday, when the band members were dropped off by their parents, the adults gathered at the Pavilion to discuss the possibility of the band performing later in October. As it was, some people at the Labor Day Picnic had asked Mr. Ken if the band was available to play at a venue they had in mind.

The boys had talked to their moms and dads about their playing, and explained how this would give them a chance to see if they were really that good that people would continue to ask for them. The parents were concerned about the venues and the hours, and who would be their chaperones. Those were the questions the group had to answer for themselves, in order to decide if their sons would be allowed to play.

Mr. Ken had the names of the individuals, who asked about hiring the band, and he told the parents who they were, and the events they wanted the band to play for. He told the group that the boys would play a late afternoon Halloween Party from 5 until 8 p.m., and an evening one starting at 7 and ending at 10 o’clock at night.

After a two-hour discussion, the parents had one last question before they would decide if they would allow their son to play at the two venues. Who would get the band and their equipment to and from the two venues?

Ken Thomas told the group that he would be responsible to get Phillip and the sound system to the venues, but that Donald Jenkins would have to be responsible to get his son’s drum set there, and the other parents would have to also get their son’s and their guitars there, too, or make other arrangements with someone. The owner of The Cove also suggested that the guitarists have a spare set of guitar strings with them, and that Jeffery have an extra pair of drum sticks.

After all of the discussion, the moms weren’t too enthusiastic about their young sons going out into the world, and playing in front of a bunch of strangers. But the dads were all for it as an opportunity for the boys to know if they were ready for that sort of thing, and to also build up their self-esteem and have bragging rights.

After the moms finally came around to agreeing to the play dates, they asked about how would the boys be paid. After some discussion, it was agreed that the boys would split half of the fee with the remainder being placed into a ‘Band Account’, to help pay for future upgrades like band uniforms, and a better sound system.

The boys were ecstatic when they learned that they would be allowed to play at the two venues that the people at the Labor Day Picnic wanted them to play at. Now the boys needed to choose a band name, and decide what they would wear. They had about five weeks to decide.

At dinner that evening, all Phillip could talk about was that he and his band was going to be playing at two gigs later in October. He was so excited over something that he never thought he could have done six months ago, when he was living with his mom. The young Cover’s ‘brothers’ were happy for him. They all knew how well the band played, and they all wished him good luck in playing at those two venues.

That night, during their nightly meeting, the boys had a different puppy in their laps. The boys made sure they didn’t choose the same puppy every night, so the younglings got to know there were differences with different people. Even ‘dad’ Ken had a puppy in his lap and Robert had the seventh pup, as there were only six Cover’s and seven puppies.

‘Dad’ Ken covered who had appointments that coming week, with Phillip seeing Doctor Doug and Charles seeing the dentist about his braces. The man then told the boys that he would have a trip later in the month, but that he wouldn’t know the dates for at least another week, or so. The boy’s ‘dad’ emphasized that he was telling them now, so they wouldn’t be caught off guard when he had to leave at a moment’s notice.

During their meetings, the boys asked their ‘dad’ if they could have a sleepover before they get too busy with everything like their Fiesta Texas, or SeaWorld trip, his three-day trip with Phillip, Thanksgiving, and then the Holidays. ‘Dad’ Ken told the boys to look at the calendar and then to let him know. But he reminded them that he had a trip he had to make sometime later in the month and that they may have to ask Mr. Dennis to help chaperone with Mr. Wayne, if he wasn’t going to be home.

After ‘dad’ Ken talked to the older boys before they went to bed, the man finally stopped at Phillip’s room. There, Phillip told his ‘dad’ that he was gone most of last week, so he didn’t get a chance to ask him again if his friends would also get a coin. ‘Dad’ Ken told the boy that he hadn’t thought about it, as he was really busy with his fall meeting. He did promise to look into it during the week and let him know.

Another item Phillip asked about was about their three-day trip, and where they would go, and, of course, when. The man asked the boy to talk to his ‘brothers’ about where they went, and what they did on their three-day trips, so he could get an idea of where he might want to go and what he might want to do.

Phillip promised that he would and then changed the subject by adding that he hoped his friends would also get a coin, too. He appealed to his ‘dad’ arguing that it was only fair to his friends that they have the same opportunity that Charles’ friends did, when they were attacked. Again, ‘dad’ Ken told the youngest Cover that he would think about it, and let him know.

That wasn’t what the boy wanted to hear, but he knew from the way his ‘dad’ repeated what he’d told him earlier, that he shouldn’t press the issue. The two shared a goodnight hug and then they each headed in separated directions. Phillip went to the bathroom to drain his dragon, while Mr. Ken headed down to his retreat to go to bed and be ready for the start of a new week.

Monday morning all the Covers woke up to rain. It hadn’t rained in quite some time in central Texas, in Texas, as a whole for that matter, and they all knew the area was due, nonetheless none of the Covers, including Mr. Ken liked it.

Lucky for Mr. Ken, Momma Maria picked up the morning newspaper for him when she arrived at work that morning, so he didn’t have to go outside in the rain to retrieve it. When he sat down at the Nook’s table the woman brought him his first cup of hot coffee, which he used to salute her. The man then began to unwrap the paper from its protective sleeve, and separate it as was his way before he looked at the front page.

To start the conversation that morning, Momma told her employer that she missed him last week while he was at his fall meeting. She added that she hopes that he would be around for much longer this time.

“Momma … I’m sorry to say,” began Mr. Ken, “I will have to go back east sometime this month to help Kate with something that concerns one of her boys.”

By then Matthew and Phillip came into the Kitchen Nook and the latter took care of fixing the resident pets fresh kibble and water. The youngest Cover then asked his ‘dad’ if he fixed the puppies morning meal.

‘Dad’ Ken mentioned that Mr. Wayne would take care of fixing the pups gruel when he arrives around eight o’clock. Phillip just shrugged his shoulders and sat down to a Momma breakfast.

The two young Covers asked their ‘dad’, as they ate, if he would drive them up to the bus stop since it was raining. All ‘dad’ Ken told them was that they should take an umbrella, as it would probably be raining when they got out of school, and they would need it then, too.

The boys didn’t like that answer, and when they looked at the time, they knew they needed to find the umbrellas, use the half-bath, and then head up the rise to the Main Gate, and go outside to the bus stop. All Mr. Ken did was smile from behind his newspaper.

It wasn’t too long before the three older teens came down for breakfast. They all said good morning to their ‘dad’ and Momma Maria, and then they sat down and waited for Momma to place their breakfast in front of them.

“Boys,” began ‘dad’ Ken, “you probably saw that it is raining. I had your younger ‘brothers’ take umbrellas up to the bus stop, so you three need to put that into your plan to get to the bus stop, as well. The weatherman is calling for these rains to continue off and on throughout the day and you may very well need those protections when school is over.”

“Do we have to?” moaned Charles, with his mouth full of pancakes.

“Yes!” was all the teen’s dad replied from behind his newspaper. “And don’t talk with your mouth full, son.”

The three teenagers did as their younger ‘brothers’ did earlier and they found the extra umbrellas, used the half-bath opposite the Study, and then quickly walked up the rise to the Main Gate and then walked outside to the bus stop.

At his school, Phillip and his friends all got together, and some of them also had umbrellas. They talked about their parents agreeing to let them play at the two locations, and some of them mentioned that they needed to decide what they would wear. Phillip told them that he didn’t care what they wore, but that they needed to pick a name for the band before their first gig.

At the high school, the Cover’s friends asked them if they would be going to the away football game that Friday. Each Cover had to tell their friends that they had to check with their ‘dad’, and they probably wouldn’t know until Wednesday night, so they couldn’t tell them until school on Thursday.

During lunch at Phillip’s school, the band’s classmates heard them talking about their playing at two locations later in October, and they wanted to know more. All the band members could tell them was that one was from five in the afternoon until eight o’clock on a Sunday, and then seven until ten o’clock at night the next Saturday.

Some classmates wanted to know what the name of their band was going to be. Unfortunately, the band members had to tell their friends that they hadn’t chosen a name yet, however the boys agreed that when they do choose a name, they’d let them know.

After the classmates left the boys alone, they began to talk about what sort of name they should give their band. The boys kicked around a few names, like Pavilion Voices, Estate Voices, Estate Boys, Pavilion Boys, Cover Boys, Cover Voices, Elementary Voices, Seven Friends, Estate Garage Band and Pavilion Garage Band, but none of them were catchy enough the boys thought.

As the band members were discussing names for their band, the after-lunch bell rang and they all had to stop trying to come up with a catchy name, and they all headed to their next class. As they walked away, they told one another to think about a name tonight, and to bring it to school tomorrow.

That night after dinner, the boys each put a puppy on their lap as did Mr. Wayne and ‘dad’ Ken. The boys had continued to play with them every day and had noticed how they not only continued to grow, but how their personalities started to rise up. The boys and men held them in their laps practically every night, as they talked down in the Great Room when ‘dad’ Ken held his evening meetings.

That evening, once everyone was settled, Mr. Ken started off by reminding Phillip that he had his appointment with Doctor Doug tomorrow after school, and that either Mr. Wayne, or Mr. Dennis, would take him there. The man then teased Charles that he had a dentist appointment set for Wednesday after school. The teen’s dad continued and quipped that this would probably be his last visit before they took his braces off, and set him up with him wearing a retainer afterwards.

Charles spoke right up and whined for his dad not to remind him about having to wear the retainer after they take his braces off. The teenager declared that he was not looking forward to having to wear it. The teen’s older ‘brothers’ just snickered at what he had to say. Matthew and Phillip didn’t know what that was all about.

With the upcoming appointments covered, Mr. Ken asked the boys if they had anything they wanted to bring up. The teens looked back and forth to one another before Billy asked if he would let them go to the away football game that Friday night.

But before the man could answer, Robert appealed to his dad by telling him that they are asking early in the week, in the hopes that he would seriously think about it, and let them know by Wednesday, so they could coordinate rides with their friends.

All ‘dad’ Ken would tell the teenagers was that he would look into where the game was being held, and how far away it was. He asked the teens to let him know tomorrow who they would be going to and from the game with, and how much money they would need. Billy pledged that they would have that for him tomorrow night for their meeting.

Matthew didn’t have anything to discuss, and when it came to Phillip, he told his ‘dad’ that he and his bandmates needed a name for the band, and he wondered if he knew where they could start looking for a good one.

‘Dad’ Ken smiled at the question and told his ‘son’ to use that new computer of his, and to start looking there and see if it can give him some ideas from where to begin. The young Cover laughed and thanked the man for that suggestion. He then confessed that he wished that he had thought about using his computer before asking him. All the boys laughed at their ‘brother’.

That night when ‘dad’ Ken visited with the boys the teens each asked him again to really think about letting them go to the football game that coming Friday night. They told him that it would be something totally different for them, and that they would be with their friends. Matthew still didn’t ask for anything special, but he did ask his ‘dad’ if he knew which puppy he wanted to keep for The Cove.

‘Dad’ Ken told the pre-teen that until Mr. Price picks his two pups, that it wouldn’t do him any good to focus on any one puppy, in the case that the sire’s owner picks the puppy he was wanting. The man added that he will be happy to have any of Chief’s puppy’s stay there with them.

In Phillip’s room the two didn’t talk too much. Phillip did tell his ‘dad’ that he didn’t even think about using his computer to find band names, and he apologized for not thinking about doing that. ‘Dad’ Ken told the young Cover that he shouldn’t beat himself up about it because that is why they are born small and given the opportunity to learn as they grow up, and this was one of those learning opportunities.

Phillip smiled at hearing what his ‘dad’ illustrated to him, and knew what he was trying to do by giving him that sort of pep talk. They soon hugged and offered one another a goodnight and then Mr. Ken headed to his retreat, while the young Cover went to use his bathroom before going to bed. Chief was still staying with her young pups down in the Great Room so, again, Phillip was the lone occupant in his bedroom 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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