Published: 16 Oct 2025

From the Previous Chapter:

“It is good to finally meet you, Mr. Dan. If I may call you that. My ‘brothers’ … they have told me some about you. And you … you were staying here … here when that shootout occurred last summer?

“Billy … he was telling us about what happened, but it was all second hand. Could you … could you tell us what really happened? Well, that is if you have the time and … and it isn’t against any Sheriff’s rules or anything?” almost begged the new Cover teen.

Dan looked to Ken to see if he should or not. Ken told his friend that it was up to him if he wanted to tell the tale. Ken told Dan that he didn’t want him to get into any trouble by telling the boys what actually happened five or six months ago.

Dan told his friend and owner of The Cove that Rafael Ruiz had already taken a plea deal and was serving his sentence and this was just a story anyway.

As the boys were eating their pizza, Mr. Ken went over to them and got their attention. “Boys … I understand that Bill, here, was telling some of you about why there is a slight difference in the color on some of the blocks on the wall back by the lockers, and on the storage garage.

“I also understand that he was telling you about a certain shootout that occurred here last summer, while we were all visiting my amusement parks, but that he only had second-hand information to tell you.

“Well … my friend, Lieutenant Dan Fischer, … he was staying here at The Cove, when that shootout went down. And Darrin … when he met the man just a few minutes ago … well, he asked him if he would tell you all about that night from his perspective.

“So, my question to you is … would you want Mr. Dan … would you want him to tell you what happened that night back in early June. But if he does … it could mean that you might miss out on one of your movies tonight depending on how long it takes and if you ask him any questions afterwards,” finished Mr. Ken.

When the boys heard that they could hear about the shootout that happened at The Cove last summer from the man who was there when it happened, they couldn’t hold back their desire to want to hear what Mr. Dan had to say.

So, Mr. Dan told them to finish their pizza and drinks and to put everything up and away, while he had a few pieces himself to get fortified for the telling. Dan then asked Ken, on the side, if he knew if any of the guards who were there that night were working tonight, and if they could maybe come down and help tell the story from their point of view.

Mr. Ken told Dan to go ahead and eat his pizza and then he’d go up to the Gate House and ask the men if any of them were there that night and to see if they could, or would, come down to the Pavilion and talk to the boys about their role in the shootout.

When Mr. Ken came back to the Pavilion, he had a security guard with him. Dan recognized the man and they shook hands and talked a few minutes about what Dan was going to tell the gathered boys tonight. The guard said that he’d like to tell them how he saw what happened that night, if he didn’t mind.

The other guards, who weren’t working the night of the shootout, heard that one of their team members that night was going to talk to the gathered boys about what his role was during that intense night where gun fire was happening all around the Pavilion.

The working security guards also wanted to hear what their cohort had to say and to also listen to what the other man, a Sheriff’s Lieutenant, who was staying on the estate that night, was going to reveal as he saw it all happen and had also participated in the shootout.

When the Pavilion was all cleaned up, and the boys were seated, Dan Fischer began his talk by first introducing the guard, Griffin Edwards, who was working the night of the shootout. But he first told them all to put away their cell phones. He told them that there was to be no recording of what they were going to hear and that this briefing was a courtesy to them, and that they were not to go around and tell everyone about what they heard.

The boys agreed and as Dan began his talk. He asked Griffin to jump in at any time and tell the boys what he was doing when he became involved in the fracas.

Dan started out by telling the boys how Chief alerted to something happening out on the estate and was at the window giving off some lowly barks. He then told them how Chief then began barking loudly and then went running out of the house and to wherever it was that she had heard, or seen.

Dan told the boys how he called the Gate House to tell them that Chief had gone racing out of the house because of something she sensed at the new storage garage and Pavilion, and to be aware of it. He added that he was going to put his Sheriff’s jacket on and for them not to shoot him, or the resident pet, Chief.

The guard jumped in and told the boys that he heard over his radio the report of something suspicious up at the new storage garage and Pavilion, and for him and his partner to go and check it out. He added that he was told that the Sheriff, who was staying on the premises, was also going up there and not to shoot him, or the resident dog.

The lieutenant continued by saying that when he got outside, he saw the guards using their flashlights and that they were headed up towards the Pavilion and garage. So, he decided to turn on the floodlights that are located on the top of the house, to give them some additional light. He added that in hindsight that was a bad idea.

One boy asked why. Dan told them that the lights outlined the security guards to anyone who was up there and it made them an easy target.

Dan continued and then he told them he heard Chief barking and that she must have attacked someone, as her growling was throatier, as if she had someone’s leg, or at least their pant leg in her mouth. Then he told the boys that there was a gunshot and all he could hear was Chief give out a yelp and a cry and go yelping, as she scampered away from the area.

The guard jumped in and told the boys, at the sounds of the shots he and his fellow guard all fell to the ground, and now he had wished that those darn lights weren’t on. He told the boys how they had to now scramble to find cover. Griffin added that they did see the dog run away and they were happy that it didn’t appear to be hurt, or that they couldn’t see that it was hurt.

Dan told the boys how when Chief came to him, after he called her numerous times, that he checked her all over her to see if she had been hit. He said that he was thankful that she wasn’t hurt because he didn’t know what or how he would tell his friend, Mr. Ken, and his boys if she had been hurt.

Lieutenant Fischer went on to tell how he then called in the shooting to the Sheriff’s dispatcher and explained that he was staying at Three Finger Cove and there were gunshots just fired and for them to send whomever was in the area and tell them that he was on the scene, and there were armed security guards on the estate, too.

Dan told the boys how he then got in one of the golf carts and then drove out of the Parking Coral, then across the soccer field, and up towards the Pavilion. He told them that as he did that there was an exchange of gunfire, and that he could see where the muzzle flashes were coming from, and that he had then wished he had put on his bulletproof vest.

The security guard spoke up and told the boys that he was on the receiving end of those gunshots and he was glad those men had bad aim, or were bad shots, because he didn’t fathom going home that night with any bullet holes in him. He added that it wasn’t too long after that he and his partner could hear the sirens, which meant the Cavalry was on its way.

Dan and the guard heard the boy’s whispers about the term ‘Cavalry’ being used and Dan spoke up. The lieutenant told them that the guard meant that the Sheriff’s Deputies were on their way, since he had made the call.

The lieutenant then added that the term was used as a witticism, like a pun or little joke, to sort of break the tension of the moment. Some of the boys then said that they now understood why he would say that.

Dan continued and added that he knew, with his fellow deputies arriving, that they would need more light, so he decided to try to make his way to the Pavilion, so he could turn on the Cove Skate Park and Pavilion lights. He told them how he used the lower Pavilion wall, on the Cove Skate Park side, to sneak up to the storage room of the Pavilion, where he knew the switches for the Cove Skate Park and the Pavilion lights were.

Since Dan was standing in front of the grill, as he was telling his story, he was showing the boys by moving from one side to the other to indicate where he’d come from and where he was going, as he made it to the Pavilion without being seen.

But to get to the room where the light switches were located, he reminded the boys that he had to get to the storage garage side of the Pavilion building, and he went to that side and showed them that when he did, he knew he could be exposed to the intruder’s gunfire. He quickly added that lucky for him, that side of the Pavilion wall was still quite dark, and he was able to get into the storage room without being seen, or noticed, and throw the light switches to the “ON” position.

Mr. Edwards, the security guard, spoke right up then and told the boys that he saw the lieutenant working his way along the Pavilion, but he had no idea what he was going to do. Then when he saw the additional lights come on, he told the boys that he was pissed because he was now even more lit up than before. Dan cringed when he heard that, but he didn’t know that at the time. He mouthed a “Sorry” to the guard.

But the guard quickly added that with the additional light he and his partner saw a dark clothed figure at the front corner on the lake side of the storage garage and that he yelled out to the man, something like, “Drop your weapon and put your hands up!” The guard said that the figure decided to shoot instead, and that he and his partner both returned fire.

Dan told the boys that he was still in the storage room and that he counted at least five rounds from the intruder and then a collective dozen from the two security guards. He said that when the shooting stopped, he waited a little longer and then he took a chance and rushed out of the storage room and made his way back to behind the main Pavilion building, which was along the grill and sink wall, where he was right now.

The security guard jumped right in and said that the move by the lieutenant caused the intruders to shoot at Dan which in turn caused him and his partner to shoot at the intruder and then their other team members who were hunkered down in one of the skate park bowls also began firing. The guard continued and told the boys that all that firing caused one of the intruders to go down, as if he had been hit.

Dan told the boys that there was then a lull in the shooting and the two security guards came up to him and joined him where he was. The man added that by now the sirens were much closer and then the three of them saw two of the patrol cars drive into the estate and being directed by the security guard at the Main Gate which way to go.

Dan told the boys that the patrol cars drove down the driveway towards the Pavilion and they immediately received gun shots to their windshields, which caused them to veer right and left. Dan added that he could tell that they were both on their radios calling for backup and then they both got out of their cars to take cover.

Griffin continued with his story and expressed his relief that the Sheriff Deputies had arrived, but that there were only two of them. But then they heard from the other side of the estate wall someone over the PA in their patrol car announced something like, “You are surrounded. Throw down your weapons and put your hands up!”

Dan now added that the men weren’t ready to give up just yet, and so they fired from both back corners of the storage garage to try to keep the security guards and sheriff deputies back. The lieutenant said that with the arrival of the Sheriff Deputies the intruders were highly outnumbered and they tried to go back the same way they came into the estate via the ladder they had used to climb over the wall.

The security guard now joined in, and added that the two men shot at them as they ran to the wall, which indicated to him and Dan that the trespassers were trying to escape the same way they got onto the estate.

Continuing, Mr. Edwards said that was when the other two security guards, who had been hiding in the skate bowl, came out of their hiding place and made their way to their side of the storage garage, and they worked their way up towards the wall and that the two Sheriff’s Deputies quickly followed.

Dan then laughed and revealed that when one of the trespassers did get onto the ladder and when he climbed up, he found that there was a Sheriff’s Deputy waiting for him on the other side, and that he climbed back down and went to his partner. And with more sirens coming their way the two men decided to call out that they were giving up, and they decided to throw their guns out and away from the storage garage.

The security guard, Griffin, told how the men yelled out that they were unarmed and that they were walking out to the skate park, and then they started to walk away from the estate wall with their hands up in the air.

The guard told how the Sheriff Deputies cautiously approached them, and with the other security guards covering them, the Deputies had the men get down on the ground and then placed their handcuffs on the intruders, at which time his security guard partners then called for an ambulance for the injured man.

Lieutenant Fischer said that he made his way over to the now apprehended intruders and that he immediately knew who two of them were. He revealed that they were men who had been arrested a few weeks back at The Cove during the Easter Egg Roll, and that the injured man was one of his henchmen, who was also arrested with him at the same time.

Dan then asked the boys if they had any questions.

“Weren’t you scared?” asked one boy.

“You’re darn right that I was scared!” replied Dan.

It was then that Charles spoke up and told the boys that Mr. Dan had been shot once before and that he recovered at The Cove back when he first began living there. He told the boys that he took the Commander out looking for Brad and Gordon when they found that man who’d fallen overboard after he’d gotten tangled up in his lines.

“When did you call Mr. Ken about the shootout?” asked another boy.

“Well, I waited until it was about eight o’clock in the morning, their time, before I called to tell him about what had happened,” replied Mr. Dan.

“What was his reaction?” asked another.

“I’ll tell you what my reaction was,” quickly spoke up Mr. Ken. “I couldn’t believe that someone … that these men could be that stupid to try to gain entrance onto the grounds that they knew had armed security. Especially … especially after they had been detained and then arrested by the Sheriff’s Deputies just a few weeks earlier at the Easter Egg Roll.”

“Mr. Griffin … what did your wife say when you got home that morning?” asked a boy.

“Well, to be honest … I didn’t tell her right away. I didn’t want to upset her that I was involved in a shootout, while on the job. You know boys … being a security guard … you usually don’t get involved in exchanging gun shots very often and this … this was my first time in my twenty plus years of doing this job. And I want to tell you boys something. I hope that it is my last!” honestly offered Griffin Edwards.

When there weren’t any more questions the boys all applauded the two men for giving them their first-hand account of what happened back in June there on Three Finger Cove during the early morning shootout that they both had participated in. Some of the boys then went up and shook their hands for taking the time to tell them something so extraordinary that they would never get to hear otherwise.

Mr. Dennis then got the movie projection system ready, while Mr. Wayne got the popcorn machine started, so there would be some fresh popcorn available for the boys to have during the movie.

Since this was Darrin’s first sleepover, his ‘brothers’ had pulled him aside and asked him to look through the movies they had chosen the other night. They asked him to select the movies that he thought they should watch that night.

Darrin looked through the movie jackets from The Accountant, Captain America: Civil War, X-Men: Apocalypse, Star Trek Beyond, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Independence Day: Resurgence, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, It, Dunkirk, Justice League and the Kingsman: The Golden Circle,

Darrin then initially selected both Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, but Billy and Robert told him that if they started them before seven, they wouldn’t finish until after midnight and ‘dad’ Ken wouldn’t be too happy and their friends wouldn’t get their midnight snack.

So, the new Cover substituted Independence Day: Resurgence in place of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which would have both movies ending around 11:30, but only giving them enough time to just have their midnight snack.

And with Dan Fischer and Griffin Edwards giving the boys their first-hand account of their involvement in the shootout that happened back in early June on The Cove it ate into the time that the boys had planned for the showing of those two movies. And now the Covers had to decide if they wanted to still watch two movies, or default to just one and then use the remaining time for swimming.

The six Cover boys got together and looked at the run-time on all the movie jackets to decide what they wanted to do. A two-hour movie would end around 9:30 and give them almost two hours of swimming time before they stopped for the midnight snack. Or, they could still show two movies, but they would have to be the shortest of the ones they had and they would end about 11:30 giving them only enough time for the midnight snack and then going to sleep.

While the boys made their decision, Mr. Dan, Mr. Griffin and Mr. Ken talked with the other security guards who had stopped by to also listen to the first-hand telling of the story of that intense night.

This gave the Cover boys the time they needed to make their selection and their friends time to use the restroom, and before long the boys got settled, the lights were turned off and the movie that was selected was the 136-minute Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, with swimming to follow. Chief and Sarge quickly found someone to nestle with and Darrin’s first sleepover had begun.

Having a movie shown outside was new to Darrin and all of his friends. Even though Blake, Landon, Sam and Terran had seen a Dive-In movie, this was totally different for them as they were now laying on, or in, their sleeping bag, as they watched the movie.

All of the boys would occasionally get up for a bag of freshly popped popcorn and a drink or to go to the restroom and then come back to get on, or in, their sleeping bag.

The security guards had to go back to doing their job of guarding The Cove, so only Mr. Ken, Mr. Dan, Mr. Wayne and Mr. Dennis were sitting on the more comfortable golf cart seats softly talking so as not to disturb the boys listening to the movie.

Jody and Martin, besides Darrin, were taking in this new and extraordinary experience and thinking that it had to be a dream. The two new friends had heard stories of some of the fun things that went on at The Cove and now here they were being a part of it.

All of the boys enjoyed the movie and they laughed when they should have and they moaned and groaned about the things that happened that they couldn’t believe did. But overall, they all enjoyed watching the night time movie outside up at the Pavilion and when it was over, they helped pick up the stray popcorn kernels and put the popcorn machine inside the storage room.

Then they all collected their belongings, and headed down to the house, to select where they would sleep that night and then they would head to the Men’s Locker Room to change and then go swimming.

Along the way, Charles told Darrin that Jody and Martin needed to take the swim test before they could swim. Then the older teen Cover asked his new ‘brother’ if he had taken the swim test himself. Darrin admitted that he hadn’t.

Robert and his friends claimed the Theater, as they have from the very beginning of the boys having sleepovers, for where they would be sleeping. Charles and his friends claimed the area under the stairs. Matthew and his friends claimed the area in front of the Rumford fireplace, while Phillip and his friends joined Billy up in the MRS Room.

Darrin was at a loss as to where he and his friends would set up, but Charles remembered what his dad asked him to do. So, the Cover teen went to his new ‘brother’ and showed him the area along the wall next to the pool area and explained it was the quietest and darkest spot around.

As the other boys set up their sleeping areas, they quickly hurried to the locker room to change. Darrin and his friends also headed in that direction, but Sam and Terran told them to follow them. And before long, the seven boys found themselves in the Women’s Locker Room.

“What are we doing here?” asked Darrin.

Sam spoke up and said, “When there aren’t any girls around, we use this room because the Men’s Locker Room is packed with the other boys changing. In here it will only be us, unless Phillip and his friends come in. And even if they do, there will still be loads of space. Now let’s not waste any more time and let’s change.”

No sooner had Sam finished his little speech than Phillip and his friends came walking into the Women’s Locker Room. They didn’t pay the older boys any mind and they just put their swimsuits on the benches, took off their shoes and socks, dropped their shorts and underwear and then put on their swimsuits without even a blush, or even a hesitation. Then they all left just as quickly as they came.

“Did you see that?” asked Jody. “They didn’t even act embarrassed to change in front of us. And how old are they? Eleven? Twelve?”

“Guys, guys, we’re wasting time,” spoke Terran. “Now change like they did. Come on, hurry up.” And he, Sam, Blake and Landon began to change just as Phillip and his friends had just done.

Jody, Martin and Darrin just stood there not believing that there were four more boys changing into their swimsuits, in front of them, like there wasn’t anything to it.

“Come on guys. If you’re embarrassed to change in front of us, then just do what we did. Take your shoes and socks off, leave your shirt on, then face the wall and then drop your shorts and briefs and then slip your swimsuit on. It’s just that simple,’ advised Blake.

“Yea, that’s how we learned to change in front of everyone when we first started to come over here to swim,” added Terran.

“And we had to change in front of our older brothers. But now we don’t care if they see us in our briefs, or with nothing on, because we both have the same equipment,” laughed Sam.

Jody and Martin looked at one another and then Martin asked, “The same equipment? Who came up with that?”

Sam explained how back when Robert’s friend Eric first swam there the much older boys, teenagers, had changed in front of the ten-year-olds’ and literally turned 360 degrees showing them what they will look like when they got older. Then the teens told the younger boys to ‘Change’.

Terran finished the story that when the boys changed back to go and get something to eat Eric’s mother asked him if he wasn’t embarrassed to change in front of the bigger boys. It was then that Eric supposedly told his mom that they all had the ‘same equipment’.

Charles came to the Locker Room and asked them what was taking them so long. The teen Cover told the three boys that needed the swim test to hurry up and change, as he was waiting to give them the test.

Darrin started to do what Blake told him to do and soon Jody and Martin followed, and before long all three had changed into their swimsuits. Sam then told them to follow him and he’d show them where they could store their clothes.

Charles gave the three boys the swim test that they passed with no problems and then Darrin and his friends began to explore what they could do in the large indoor pool.

The first thing that Jody wanted to try was to jump off the rock ledge. He told Darrin that he’d heard so much about it that he had to try it now that he was there. So, the seven boys headed over to the rock ledge and eyed it up.

“It doesn’t look all that high,” offered Jody, to no one in particular.

The four boys who’d been there and had jumped off the rock ledge before looked at one another and smiled. Blake then told Jody that the ledge was about eight feet above the pool deck and a little over nine feet above the water and for him to go ahead and walk up the stairs.

All seven boys walked up the rock stairs and when they got up there, Jody looked over the ledge and said that it sure looked a lot higher from up there than it did when he was down on the pool deck. Again, the four boys who’d been there before and had jumped off that same ledge chuckled at the boy’s comment and then told him that he wanted to jump off it and now was his chance.

Jody took some light hearted ribbing about his hesitation to jump off the ledge, from the six other boys. But Sam spoke up and told his friends that he’d go first to show them how easy it was and that they wouldn’t get hurt. The young teen then went to the edge and then jumped.

Terran quickly followed and then so did Blake and Landon. Only Darrin, Jody and Martin were left standing on the rock ledge with the four other boys in the water calling for them to, “Jump!”.

Darrin told his two new friends, “You know if we don’t do it, we’ll never hear the end of it at school. So, we all better do this. I’m going to do this! Which one of you is going to follow after me?” The new Cover teen went to the rock ledge edge and then jumped, leaving Jody and Martin on the top of the rock jumping platform by themselves.

Martin and Jody talked amongst themselves, and it was Martin who told his friend that he was the one who wanted to jump off of the rock ledge and that now he better do it. Martin then ran to the edge and jumped. The teen gave off a slight yell as he fell, but he was safe and happy that he had done it. Now Martin joined his friends calling for Jody to jump.

Soon, the six friends saw Jody standing on the edge of the platform. They all called out to him, “Just do it!” as they all had. Jody was still a bit skittish about jumping, and was still hesitating to jump.

Phillip and his friends saw what was happening on the rock ledge, so they went over there to jump and to also try to convince Jody to jump with them. The slightly younger boys all began climbing the rock stairs and they told Jody that it was simple and a few of them just jumped.

Phillip stopped to talk to the teenager to tell him how his friends handled the height. The youngest Cover told Jody that because he is standing up it looks five feet higher than it did from down on the pool deck, and that was why he is probably a bit hesitant to jump. So, the young Cover told the teen to just sit on the edge and then push off.

Judy was still a bit uncertain about what he was about to do, but what Phillip told him did sound reasonable, so that is what he did. Both Phillip and Jody sat on the rock edge and with their feet dangling over the edge, the young Cover asked the teen if it didn’t look less scary. Jody agreed that it did look much better that way. Phillip said then, “Let’s push off.”

Both boys pushed off the ledge at the same time and splashed into the water together and when they came up, they heard a round of applause. Darrin then thanked his younger ‘brother’ for helping his friend get over his fear.

Darrin and his friends then got out the diving toys and played a game of seeing who could grab the most with only one breath. They started with the toys close by and then they placed them further away from the pool’s edge. The seven friends had fun playing in the large indoor pool, but before long Billy had the lifeguards blow their whistles to announce that it was time to change and head up to the Kitchen Nook for their midnight snack.

Darrin and his friends went into the Women’s Locker Room to change, and as they did, Phillip and his friends joined them to also change. The teens saw that the younger boy only put on their shirts and boxer briefs, so Darrin asked his ‘brother’ why.

Phillip told the new Cover that this way they could eat and then go to their sleeping bag without having to get undressed. Phillip also told Darrin that this late at night, there shouldn’t be any women in the house.

As Phillip was leaving the locker room, he reminded Darrin that he needed to throw his and his friend’s swimsuits and towels into the industrial dryer, so that they would be dry in the morning.

Then, tongue-in-cheek, Phillip told Darrin to make sure he turned the dryer back on if he was the last one adding the clothes. Darrin threw his swimsuit at his ‘brother’ for saying that. All the boys laughed at the exchange.

Up in the Kitchen Nook, Momma had made a 16” by 24” sheet cake that should provide 96 servings for the boys to devour as their midnight snack. She had also made many gallons of vanilla and chocolate milk for the boys, but there was regular white milk available for those boys who didn’t want the special milk the woman had made for that special night.

When Darrin and his friends arrived in the Nook, they were surprised that the rest of the boys were all dressed as Phillip told them to be. They were relieved that the young Cover hadn’t set them up to be yelled at by Mr. Ken for just being in their shirts and boxer briefs.

Darrin and his friends got in line and took a piece of cake and then they selected their drink of choice and with so many boys there they found a place on the floor to sit and eat their snack.

After all the boys had a piece of cake and a drink, Billy got everyone’s attention. “Tomorrow morning, us Cover boys … we will be getting up at o’dark thirty. That includes you, Darrin.” There was a lot of laughter after Billy mentioned Darrin’s name.

“O’dark thirty means that we will be getting up at seven o’clock and heading up to the Pavilion to cook breakfast for you. Many of you have enjoyed the pancakes, crisp bacon, breakfast tacos and eggs, but you have never volunteered to help us. I think it is time that you slackers, yea I’m talking to you who like to sleep in, while we slave at setting up the serving line and make the food. I think it is time you jump up tomorrow morning and join us.

“The first time Phillip, our newest Cover, was at his first sleepover … he and Westin … they learned how to make the breakfast tacos, and they did it at the last sleepover, too. The eleven-year-olds. They were doing a bang-up job. But it is about time someone else did that job.

“As I graduate from high school and move on, so will Robert and then Charles and who is going to run the sleepover and cook the breakfasts? That only leaves Matthew, Phillip and Darrin, but they too will move on and so … if you want this great amenity that Mr. Ken provides for us you need to step up and learn how it is done!

“You don’t have to volunteer now. But tomorrow morning you’ll hear us getting up and heading out. So, get your lazy asses out of your sleeping bags and join us! Enough said.” And with that said the oldest Cover went back to eating his midnight snack.

Neither Mr. Ken, Mr. Wayne or Mr. Dennis said anything afterwards. They just stood back and ate their cake and drank their caffeine-free coffee.

Soon, the men told the boys to head to their sleeping bags, but to first drain their dragons. Hearing that they needed to drain their dragons, Jody and Martin asked Darrin what that was all about. Darrin explained that it was his foster dad’s way of politely telling them to go pee. The two boys laughed at the telling.

All of the boys did use the Party Restrooms to relieve the pressure in their bladders. When Darrin’s new friends went into the restrooms, they couldn’t believe how big they were because they had seen that they were built under the room above, but they went deeper than the room was.

Darrin had to explain to them that Mr. Ken had them built out beyond the foundation footprint because he knew he would be having huge parties and he would need large restrooms for the men and women that attended. The new Cover told Jody and Martin that his foster dad told him that he’d see what he meant when he threw his Holiday Parties in December.

Darrin’s newest friends asked him what Billy meant when he said that they should volunteer to help with the breakfast. Sam and Terran told them that they usually make pancakes, crisp the bacon more than it already is, fix the coffee for the adults, and set up the serving line as they do for when they fix the hamburgers and hotdogs.

Martin thought about it for a few moments and then told Darrin to wake him when he got up. He said that he wanted to see what it took to put the breakfast on. Jody then said that he wanted to help too. Then before he knew it, all of Darrin’s friends had volunteered to help in the morning.

By 12:15 all of the boys had settled down and were in their sleeping bags and asleep. Billy had his cell phone set for 06:55 and had planned to get Robert, Eric, Charles, Matthew, Darrin and Phillip up right after he got dressed. They in turn would then wake up those friends of theirs who volunteered to help.

Chief slept where Darrin was and Sarge slept next to Matthew. The Cove was quiet throughout the night after everyone had finally fallen asleep.

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

If you are using webmail please include, on the subject line, [CR] [name of story]. This let’s the author know 2 things: Where you read the story and which story you are writing about.

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