The man got ready for bed and then he sat on the edge of that king-sized sleeping envelope and looked back at the previous week. He saw that a lot had been accomplished and that there was a lot more yet to be done, before the Holidays took over his life. He smiled at that last thought as he loved the Holidays, and this one would be even better with his fiancée and her family there with him.

The owner of The Cove then decided that he better get some rest as he knew the boys would be wanting to know what happened at the courthouse with Kate, and when she and the boys would be there for the Holidays.

So, the man turned off the lights in his private retreat, crawled under the blankets and closed his eyes. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep. Before long the home was quiet as everyone inside, including the resident pets, were all fast asleep.

The Covers woke up to rain that Saturday morning. Ken Thomas wasn’t happy with the weather, but what could he do. He was at the mercy of Mother Nature just as everybody else was. So, he got out of bed, used his bathroom, got ready for his day, and then went out to get his morning newspaper. He was happy that the paper came in a double protective sleeve that kept the rain water out of it.

Going inside, the owner of The Cove put the paper at his place at the Nook’s table and then he went to get his favorite coffee cup, filled it with coffee from the automatic coffee maker, then took it over to the table and sat down. The man then did what he usually did, which was take the plastic sleeve off the newspaper, separate it and then begin reading from Section A, World News.

The boys began arriving in the Kitchen Nook around nine o’clock and after they said good morning to their ‘dad’ they went directly to the convection oven hoping to find warm breakfast tacos waiting for them. But there wasn’t any.

“Ahhh,” said Phillip, when he saw here wasn’t any breakfast tacos in the convection oven.

“Don’t look at me,” spoke up ‘dad’ Ken. “I only got here at 11:30 last night and it wasn’t my job to get your breakfast ready. Ask Mr. Wayne, or better still, why didn’t you boys put some in the refrigerator last night before you went to bed, so they would be partially thawed in that way they wouldn’t take so long to heat.”

The older teens came into the Kitchen Nook and they heard what their ‘dad’ had said, so they didn’t even bother looking for breakfast tacos. Billy went and got the cereal and a banana and fixed himself a simple morning meal. Charles followed suit as did Phillip.

Robert, Matthew and Darrin opted to fix breakfast tacos. They asked the two men if they wanted any and getting a nod the boys fixed fifteen tacos by first unwrapping them and then putting them into the microwave. It wouldn’t be long before they would have their breakfast.

Since everyone was together in the Kitchen Nook, Robert asked his dad about what happened Ms. Kate in the court and how it went. Upon hearing the question, all the boys turned their attention to their ‘dad’.

‘Dad’ Ken looked up from the newspaper, put it down and told the boys to gather around.

“OK, here’s what happened at the courthouse with Kate. Some time back … you all know that Lane isn’t Rusty’s father, right? (Getting nods and affirmative answers from the boys, ‘dad’ Ken continued.) When it was revealed that Lane wasn’t Rusty’s father, a search warrant … the judge signed a search warrant and the area of the house, where Lane lived with his mother Evelyn Blankenhart, was searched. There they found some drugs and a huge amount of money.

“During the hearing, where it was determined that Lane was not the father, the judge … he also ordered Lane to pay child support. Well, the money that was seized, during the search warrant, was looked upon as a potential asset to go after for the back payments to Kate for that child support, and that was what the court hearing was all about.

“The police said that the money was drug related and Kate’s lawyer had to prove that it wasn’t. Well, the bottom line was that Kate’s lawyer was able to prove that the money did not come from Lane selling drugs, and so the judge … he ordered the police to return the money and pay most of it to Kate, as back child support, and the remaining amount to Mrs. Blankenhart. That is the essence of the hearing, boys,” finished ‘dad’ Ken.

The boys wanted to know how much money was involved. But ‘dad’ Ken reminded them that the amount of money wasn’t important, but that someone was able to receive it was the important thing. He recounted back when some of them received a sum of money and that he wanted them to be thankful for it, but that it was also no one else’s business how much it was.

The boys who’d gotten the settlement from the airport remembered back to that time, and agreed with their ‘dad’. Billy just nodded, as he’d received a bundle of cash from the alarm company settlement.

“‘Dad’, does that mean when I get my settlement from the construction company, I shouldn’t tell my ‘brothers’ how much it was?” asked Phillip.

‘Dad’ Ken smiled at the question, while the boys ‘brothers’ chuckled. “Yes, ‘son’, that is what it means. Since you’ve been here … have any of your ‘brothers’ … have they told you how much money they’ve gotten from any settlement they might have been involved in?”

Phillip thought about the question for a few moments and then he told his ‘dad’ that they hadn’t.

“Boys … you all know that Bill and myself and that Bill and Phillip all have active lawsuits pending. Well, next week, some of those lawsuits will be settled, as you now know from what Phillip has mentioned.

“And, boys, just as we did with your settlement, please don’t bother your ‘brother’ about his. Just be happy that this ordeal is over for him and that he now won’t have to testify in court. He will also have his future education and possibly his future prepared for him, just as yours was.”

With the discussion of what happened with Ms. Kate and now that the boys know that Phillip and Billy’s lawsuit against the construction company will be settled next week, the boys went and got ready for their day.

While the boys got ready for their day, Mr. Wayne decided to head home and Mr. Dennis was headed into work because the construction company was going to stop by after lunch. The construction crew was going to remove the slab forms, clean up the area some more, pull the soil back up against the slabs and then level the soil all around the slabs.

Mr. Dennis arrived earlier than the construction crew was expected, but he wanted to be there in case they decided to arrive earlier than scheduled. He also wanted to be there so the other boys would see him, because Wayne had told him that they were surprised that they didn’t see him at The Cove all that much.

Mr. Dennis and Mr. Ken did talk in the Study, while they waited for the crew to arrive. Dennis was curious as to his being more involved in Wayne’s activities at The Cove and Mr. Ken was truthful about him being Wayne’s backup in case the man was sick or busy elsewhere.

It was while the two men were talking that Mr. Dennis’ cell phone rang. It was the construction supervisor calling to tell him that they were not going to stop by as the ground would be too wet to work, and with the chance of rain off and on all day, they would stop by Monday morning.

“Dennis,” began Mr. Ken, “as you know, this is the busiest time of the year here at The Cove. So, I want you to know about all the parts and pieces that go into getting the place ready with the decorations, and for all the parties. That’s besides getting involved with what Wayne does around here.

“You’ve done a lot of that, but he gets involved behind the scenes as well, especially when he stays here with the boys while I’m gone. I think the next time I go away I’m going to ask you to stay here with him and see what else goes on. That way you’ll be better prepared to take over for him on the run if that time ever comes. Will you be OK with that?” finished the owner of The Cove.

As the two men talked some more about Dennis’ continued involvement at The Cove going forward, Phillip came down after getting ready for the day, and he stopped by the Study to talk to his ‘dad’.

The boy wanted the man to know that he was playing at Four Corners tomorrow night, instead of tonight, as he was scheduled. The youngster explained that Ty just called him a few minutes ago, and they changed places because Ty has something to do at his church tomorrow night.

Phillip added that when he goes to the amusement park on Sunday, he should be there at about five-thirty. When they talked, Mr. Dennis was still in the room. Mr. Ken thanked him for telling them about the change and told the boy that he’d make sure that a security guard would take him there. Phillip then walked away.

Mr. Ken then told Dennis that because of what happened to the boy and his mother a few weeks back, he needed to have one of the security guards accompany Phillip, for the foreseeable future, and, in this case, as he goes to Four Corners to play with his band. He further explained this is one of those situations that Wayne would get involved in. He then called Diamond Security to let them know about the need for one of the guards to accompany Phillip tomorrow night, instead of tonight, and he gave them the hours.

Even though Dennis had stayed overnight when the boys had a big sleepover, he’d never stayed at The Cove while Mr. Ken was gone. With the security issues with Phillip, he was given a crash course in what else happens around the estate that he isn’t aware of since he isn’t there for as many hours a day as Wayne was. Dennis was always interested in getting more of the back story of The Cove and he was getting some more of it while talking to his employer.

The boys were bummed out that the rain was on and off all morning. They wondered if their friends would be able to come over with the rains, as they were. The older boys were then nominated to talk to their ‘dad’ to see if they could tell their friends that they could still come over and that they would swim, or what else they could do.

Billy and Robert went to the Study where the two men were still talking. The two older teens asked their ‘dad’ about their friends still coming over. ‘Dad’ Ken turned to his computer and called up the weather app to see what the forecast was for the day, and what the weather radar showed for the foreseeable future.

“Boys, the weather radar … look here (Mr. Ken shows the boys the computer screen.). It looks like the rain will be around for most of the day. And it is close to noon, so, why don’t you call your friends and tell them that we’re going out Christmas shopping,” was ‘dad’ Ken’s reply to their question.

Of course, that was not what the boys wanted to hear, but they reluctantly left the Study to tell their ‘brothers’ the bad news. It was as the two teens were leaving the Study that ‘dad’ Ken also told the boys to get out their Christmas Wish Lists. Something else that the boys might have a difficult time producing.

Mr. Ken told Dennis that he would take the boys out Christmas shopping, so he could go back home. The owner of The Cove thanked Dennis for coming in that Saturday and for ramrodding the slab installation. He also asked the Assistant Estate Master to come in earlier on Monday morning in order to be here when the concrete crew comes by to finish the job.

In the meantime, the boys went scrambling for their Christmas Lists. Darrin already had his and he brought it down from his room. Phillip asked him how he was able to put one together. The teen told his younger ‘brother’ that his friends helped him. Phillip couldn’t believe that Darrin had his friends help him, so he asked his teen ‘brother’ how they did that.

Darrin told Phillip that since he lost everything in the fire, they helped him remember what he used to have and then all he had to do was write it down and add a few things. Darrin asked Phillip if he wanted him to help him. The younger Cover agreed right away.

Darrin asked Phillip about where he lived and the kinds of things that he had. Phillip was embarrassed to tell his teen ‘brother’ about his life in an apartment, and with his mom who was gone most of the time.

But the young Cover did tell Darrin about his guitar that Mr. Ken replaced and all the music. He also told him about the small radio he once had, a small cigar box where he kept small things he wanted to save.

Phillip told his older ‘brother’ that he really didn’t have very much and with him living at The Cove he’s had so much more than he could ever think of. Phillip told of the clothes, the trips, his ‘brothers’, having a ‘dad’, good food and before long Phillip was crying. Darrin didn’t know what to do other than to hug his ‘brother’, as they all did with a group hug.

Chief and Sarge heard the boy crying and they went barking to where the two were seated talking. The other boys heard the resident pets barking and they saw them go running and they followed to where they went.

When the boys found Chief and Sarge, they saw them licking at Phillip’s tears and Darrin hugging him. Billy went to his younger ‘brother’ and pulled him up and just hugged him. The other boys joined in the group hug. After a few long moments, Robert asked Phillip why he was crying. The group all sat down and heard what the youngest Cover had to say.

Through his tears, Phillip told his ‘brothers’ how Darrin was helping him with his Christmas List. The young boy told them about the things he remembered having when living with his mom, then he said he told the teen about what he’s had ever since living with Mr. Ken.

Phillip told his ‘brothers’ that was when he realized that what he’s had ever since living there was so much more than he’s ever had and thinking about that made him cry, as he knows when he goes back to living with his mother, he’ll lose all of that.

What the boys didn’t know was that ‘dad’ Ken also heard the resident pets go barking and he, too, wanted to know what that was all about. So, he went looking for himself. When he saw the boys, all congregating together and that Phillip had been crying, he stood back and listened to what they were saying. He wasn’t shocked at what he heard. He knew that when the boy did go back to living with his mother that his life would go back to being the humdrum one that he once had.

Not wanting the boys to know he knew what was going on, Ken Thomas walked back to his Study and he called Robert’s phone. When the teen answered, he told him to round up his ‘brothers’ and for them to meet him in the Kitchen Nook, where they would talk before going out Christmas shopping.

Once everyone was together, ‘dad’ Ken asked the boys if they had any ideas what to buy the staff for Christmas. The boys looked around at one another, and it was Matthew who spoke up first. He told ‘dad’ Ken that he remembered how Momma Maria liked having those Spa Certificates where she could go and be pampered. Robert and Charles both agreed with maybe buying those for Momma.

Phillip suggested that they buy Mr. Dennis a set of new suitcases. The youngster said that the man’s looked worn out and he felt that he could use some new ones. The rest of the boys all agreed.

Darrin asked if they could get Momma some new aprons. He said that the ones she had looked kind of old and worn and had some stains that looked like she couldn’t get them out. Again, Robert and Charles spoke up and said that those were a few years old and that she loved them when Kyle gave them to her.

‘Dad’ Ken concurred and told Darrin that getting those renewed would be a good idea. All they needed to do now was come up with some new slogans to put on them. Phillip asked what was wrong with, “I’m a Cover, too!” The boys agreed, but ‘dad’ Ken asked them to see if they could come up with something more special.

“But what do we get Mr. Wayne?” asked Phillip. “He has everything.” (The older boys began to laugh.) “Well … doesn’t he?” asked a naive Phillip.

“And what about Mr. Chris?” now asked Charles. “We gave him that briefcase that we see him use all the time. So, what can we top that with?”

“OK, we have two people we need to come up with ideas for, Mr. Wayne and Mr. Chris. And we also need to maybe come up with a better slogan for Momma’s aprons,” spoke ‘dad’ Ken.

Billy listened to what everyone was saying. Then he spoke up and said, “That dash camera Momma gave me … it was a life-saving device for sure. Maybe we should get them both one of those. But … well, let’s get them a top of the line one.”

The boys all thought that was a great idea, and so did Mr. Ken. The man then tasked Bill with finding a good dash camera that they could get them, while they were out shopping. So, with all the ideas now identified, ‘dad’ Ken told everyone to drain their dragons and meet him in the garage in ten minutes.

The Covers spent the afternoon buying Christmas presents for Mr. Dennis, Mr. Wayne and Mr. Chris. They also bought Momma Maria four Spa Certificates, while they all thought about what they could put on her new aprons.

The boys came up with a few ideas: Momma Makes The Best Meals, Momma’s Meals are the Best, I Cook for All the Covers and I’m the Cover’s Cook. They told their ‘dad’ that they’d keep thinking of something like those and that they’d let him know.

The Covers spent the whole afternoon shopping for the staff’s Christmas presents. The boys had also reminded their ‘dad that he told them that they could decorate their rooms for Christmas and while they were out shopping, they bought a few Holiday decorations for their rooms, too.

When they finished, they went out to dinner. They didn’t go to their normal places, since they were away from the Four Corner’s area at the time. The boys liked that they got the chance to eat elsewhere.

Tonight, they stopped at a Bar-B-Que Restaurant and they ordered brisket, chicken, beans, coleslaw, along with drinks and they ate at a large table that seated them all on bench seats, with butcher paper as their plates. They enjoyed the new dining occasion and they talked about their shopping experience, both today and the other night with Mr. Wayne, Mr. Dennis and Mr. Dan.

‘Dad’ Ken asked the boys if they’d gotten all of their gag gifts bought, including something for Rusty and Jessy. When they said that they had, he told them that sometime next week they would have to wrap them.

Phillip spoke up and said that he didn’t know how to wrap presents. ‘Dad’ Ken told him that he would start him out and that after that he’d be on his own. The youngster’s ‘brothers’ all chuckled at hearing that. Matthew then spoke up and told his ‘brother’ that he had the same problem at first, but it got easier after he’d done a few.

Later that evening, when the Covers returned home, they saw that Central Texas Decorating had finished decorating the Christmas tree. Phillip and Darrin asked Mr. Ken if he would turn the lights on. When the man flipped the switch, all of the boys were amazed at what they saw. The Christmas tree was ablaze in bright white lights.

“I’ve only ever seen a Christmas tree this big in department stores, and in outside city decorations. I never knew someone could put it inside their home,” spoke up Phillip. “How big is it?”

“That my boy is a 25-foot tree sitting on a thirty-inch-high platform. The platform makes it look taller than it actually is, but who’s going to ask, or even care. You can see they have the lights on it already and the tree topper,” was how Mr. Ken described the Christmas tree to the youngest Cover.

“How many lights are on there?” now asked Phillip, innocently.

“There should be at least 5,000 lights on the tree, boys. And tomorrow, I want us to put my American Flyer train under the tree. It has switches, and a few buildings to go along with what the boys have bought me over the years. It’ll be fun, you’ll see,” chuckled ‘dad Ken.

It was Matthew who asked if they installed the animated Holiday decorations yet.

‘Dad’ Ken told the boys to get their jackets and to get Chief and Sarge and they’d all go outside and take a look. When they got out there, the boys could see that there were large decorations installed from the Patio up along the upper grass area and that they faced the lake. There was also one out on the extended cove finger where they watched the 4^th of July fireworks from.

“How many are there, and can you light them up for us?” asked Darrin.

Mr. Ken told the boys to stay where they were and he went over to the master electrical control panel and flipped the switch. Upon doing so, immediately the animated figures lit up and went into motion. Phillip did a quick count and he came up with eleven animated Holiday figures.

The first animated Holiday decoration the boys admired was the 8-foot Animated Juggling Snowman. They then focused on the 8-foot-high animated waving Santa on his sleigh with nine moving reindeer, with one that had a red lit up nose.

The other animated figures included an 8-foot-high 4-piece holographic lighted train, a working 4-seat Ferris wheel full of multi-colored lights, animated elves, a kicking Santa stuck in a chimney, an 8-foot-high Santa on a Motorcycle, and an 8-foot-high animated waving Santa. The boys couldn’t decide which figure they should watch or which one they liked the best, but the boys loved everything they saw.

It was Charles who spoke up and identified that there were three new animated decorations that year. Upon hearing that, both Robert and Matthew agreed and they pointed out that the animated elves tossing packages to one another one was a new one, that the animated snowmen snowball fight was another and the 9-foot-high multicolor LED animated light show outdoor Christmas tree out on the cove finger was also new for that year.

Phillip and Darrin asked if they could go over and look at them up closely. Their ‘brothers’ asked if they could do that, too. ‘Dad’ Ken told the boys to be careful of all electrical cables lying all over, so they don’t trip and hurt themselves.

Phillip, Darrin and Matthew went together and looked at the closest animated figure first. As they looked at the decorations, Matthew told his ‘brothers’, which animated figures were there the previous years, and that they were located differently in years past, so that the people seeing them from their boats would think they were seeing something different.

The boys watched the animated figures from the front and back to see what was the difference. They could see that because of the way they were constructed that electric wiring, blocking and steel frames held the figures together, so the lights shown out the face, or front side of the figure for the best observation, by the viewer out on the lake, which was why ‘dad’ Ken had them placed that way.

After the boys spent about twenty minutes checking out the eleven animated Holiday figures, ‘dad’ Ken had the boys head inside, where they talked about what they’d seen. The man then turned the animated figures off.

Once the boys were back inside, Phillip wanted to know more about Mr. Ken’s train that they were going to put up tomorrow.

“Phillip … Collin … he gave me an S-Gauge American Flyer Hudson 4-6-4 Steam Engine train the first Christmas he was with me. Since then, I’ve bought more track and the last few years I had it running under the tree. It was Robert, Charles, Matthew and the twins who bought me a few more pieces of rolling stock to put on the tracks.

“If my memory serves me correctly, Charles got me a tank car, while the twins each got me a boxcar, while Matthew got the caboose to set on the track. I totally forget who added the second caboose, a lumber carrying car, the tank car and a coal car.

“It was Mr. Wayne who bought me three Plasticville buildings. One was a gas station, one was a red schoolhouse, and the third one was a diner. Last year I got a few more buildings as Christmas presents.

“So, Phillip, after we have our breakfast, we can come down here tomorrow, and we’ll first set up the track under the Christmas tree. And since you’re still a small boy, we’ll let you be the one who crawls in the back to attach them together.

“Then, once the track is all together, we’ll set up the transformer, and see if everything is working properly. Then we’ll run the train a while and while it is going around under the tree, we’ll put the Plasticville buildings together and place them under the tree, as well. You’ll see how easy it is once we get it started.

“Ok, what say you boys go up to your rooms and get ready for bed.” Then announced ‘dad’ Ken.

That night as he said good night to the boys, ‘dad’ Ken spent more time with Phillip. He wanted to talk to the boy about what he told Darrin earlier that day. Phillip felt confused and ashamed for what he said.

But ‘dad Ken told Phillip that he shouldn’t be ashamed for what he said, because, in those few moments, as he talked to Darrin, he came to understand that what he has, versus what he’ll be going back to when he and his mother reunite, will be totally different.

The boy began to cry, so ‘dad’ Ken pulled the boy to him and let him lightly cry. The foster dad told Phillip not to feel bad about what he thought, but to be happy with what he has, and will have, until he goes back to living with his mom. The man reminded the boy thathe is a Cover and, just like Mark, he will be included in many of the things that the Covers do.

Phillip wiped his eyes and looked up into ‘dad’ Ken’s eyes and asked, “You promise?”

“Darrin … thank you for helping Phillip earlier today, you know, with his Christmas List. As you heard, he lived in a sparse apartment and … well, he didn’t have very much. So, giving him some ideas of what to ask Santa for was what big ‘brothers’ do for their little ‘brothers’,” offered Mr. Ken.

Darrin smiled and thanked his foster dad for what he said. He then told Mr. Ken that he has his list ready. He then kiddingly told the man that since he lost everything in the fire, he just put it all on it, and then smiled.

Mr. Ken saw the playfulness in what and how the teen said what he did. So, the man pulled Darrin to him, messed up his hair and then hugged him. He then told the teen that he might have to help his other ‘brothers’ with their Christmas Lists and then laughed. Mr. Ken then told the teen to make sure he drained his dragon before going to bed, and to sleep well.

As he sat on the edge of his king-sized bed, Ken Thomas looked back on the day and was happy at the way it went. He was looking forward to tomorrow and another day with his ‘boys’. He then turned off the lights and went to sleep. Everyone in The Cove would soon be fast asleep.

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

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