Published: 20 Aug 2026

From the Previous Chapter:

And with that said in his mind, Ken Thomas turned off the lights on his bedroom and the man got under the covers. But even though he told himself not to think about the coming next few days, his mind still wouldn’t stop doing that. So, Ken Thomas laid there trying to relax his mind, so that he could finally fall asleep.

The owner of The Cove wasn’t sure when he finally fell asleep, but by the time he ultimately did the rest of the residents and the guests of The Cove had been asleep for quite some time. And with Christmas just around the corner, The Cove was quiet throughout the night.

Momma and Sophia were already in the Kitchen Nook when Kate came down for breakfast, but she wondered where Ken was. She asked the women if they’d has seen her fiancé, but they told her that they hadn’t. Kate was now concerned that Ken may be sick.

With none of the boys’ downstairs yet, Kate decided to go and check on her fiancé, herself. So, she walked out of the Nook and to Ken’s private retreat. She knocked lightly on the closed door, but she didn’t get any response. So, since there was no reply from within, Kate knocked once more, but this time she knocked harder. But, again, there was no answer from her fiancé.

Still concerned about Ken, she slowly opened the door as she continued to knock and called out, “Ken … Ken … are you OK?”

On the king-sized bed, Ken stirred when he heard this strange voice. But he ignored it.

“Ken … Ken … can you hear me? Are you alright?” Kate called out a second time.

Ken Thomas had ignored the voice the first time, but when he heard it again, he opened his eyes.

“Ken … can I … can I come in?” called out Kate.

But this time Ken recognized the voice. He quickly looked at the clock and seeing how late it was he sat up and called out to the welcomed voice that she could come in.

Kate slowly walked into the master retreat, which was the first time she was ever in Ken’s private area, and upon doing so, she saw Ken siting up on his bed yawning.

“So, you’re up?” teased Kate.

“Boy I must have really been tired, as I had to have slept through my alarm,” replied a still yawning Ken.

“I’ll say. Momma and Sophia … they had no idea where you were and none of the boys were down yet, so … well, I came back here to check up on you. I’m glad you are OK,” answered Kate.

Ken smiled and remarked, “If I remember right … I think this is the first time that you’ve ever been back here. Isn’t it? And I’d ask you to stay and I’d show you around, but your mother … she might not like the idea that you are back here and I’m still in my bed,” now teased Kate’s fiancée.

“Ken, your incorrigible,” replied a smiling Kate. “But you’re also right. My mother … she would not understand. So, please get up and get ready for the day, and I’ll see you out in the Nook,” finished Kate, who walked over to her fiancé and gave him a kiss and then she quickly exited the retreat.

After his fiancée left his private area, Ken got out of bed and got himself ready for the day.

When Kate reentered the Kitchen Nook, her mother was there drinking some coffee. The two said good morning to one another and Kate didn’t let on where she had just come from. Edith did comment that Ken must have slept in, and then she reached for the newspaper and began to take it out of the protective sleeve, so she could read through it.

The two women talked about the previous two days, as they both drank some coffee, after Sophia brought over a fresh cup and the carafe of coffee to Kate.

The first of the boys to appear were Phillip and Jessy. They both said good morning to the women, but Jessy also hugged his mother and grandmother. And it wasn’t too long before the rest of the boys were in the Kitchen Nook.

Of course, the boys first question was, “Where’s ‘dad’?”

But that question was no sooner out of their combined voices when ‘dad’ Ken walked in to the kitchen Nook and offered, with a smile, “Where’s who?”

Robert and Charles went to their dad and hugged him, while Momma and Sophia shooed everyone into the Dining Room, so they could serve breakfast.

That Sunday morning, Momma and Sophia made something special for the family, as they tried to make different breakfasts for them. They try not repeat any breakfast item, although the ingredients are always the same.

Today the women served a Mexican breakfast hash made with eggs, crispy potatoes, beans, fresh cilantro, green onions, tomatoes, red bell peppers, avocado, and cheese. They did add a few pieces of jalapenos for flavor, but they held back on what they would normally have added because of the younger boys.

They also prepared two types of baked breakfast taquitos. Some were made with eggs, sausage, some peppers and cheddar cheese. While the other breakfast taquitos were made the same way, but bacon was substituted for the sausage. That was just in case the younger boys didn’t like sausage.

A third dish the women concocted for the family that morning were Chilaquiles (pronounced chee·luh·kee·layz.) This Mexican dish was made of fried corn tortilla pieces simmered with salsa, and topped with cheddar cheese and sliced onions, shredded chicken, and some had either fried or scrambled eggs

Kate and Edith couldn’t believe what they were eating that morning. They had eaten the two ladies’ breakfast’s before and every time they do, they are pleasantly surprised at what Momma and Sophia can do with those simple ingredients.

Even Rusty and Jessy tried all three offerings and they loved what they tasted and went back for more. Also, that morning’s breakfast was a real treat for the Cover boys, as Momma rarely made these types of meals for them, as she only cooked for them during the weekdays.

After everyone had eaten, and the boys had cleared the table, the women brought out the leftover Mexican Fruit Salad, so it wouldn’t go to waste and some homemade Churros covered with a dusting of cinnamon and sugar.

When everyone finally left the table, they were all very full. The boys did hug both women for fixing such a great breakfast. Even Kate and Edith gave Momma and Sophia a hug, as well, and they thanked them profusely for their wonderful cooking skills.

When the boys went up to get their showers and ready for their day, Rusty and Jessy hurried to Phillip’s bathroom and they got there before Phillip, Matthew and Darrin did. That way the three Covers had to wait for the two younger boys to finish before they could use the bathroom.

Darrin, though, decided to join the older boys in their bathroom to get his shower. He’d been seen, sans clothes, by his older brother, Dawson, so he told Matthew and Phillip that he wasn’t going to be embarrassed by being naked in front of their three older ‘brothers’.

It took the two younger boys about twelve minutes to finish with their showers and when they were done, Rusty opened the bathroom door and told Matthew and Phillip that they could now use it.

The two Covers entered, while Rusty and Jessy were still in there, and they quickly undressed and went into a shower stall. Jessy giggled and Rusty told him to be quiet and that he better not tell mom, or else she’ll make them take their showers in her bathroom. Jessy said that he won’t and the two finished dressing and then they took their dirty clothes to their mom’s bedroom.

After the boys were showered, dressed and all together, they loaded onto the golf carts and they headed up to the Pavilion and Cove Skate Park. Phillip and Jessy went directly to the garage, opened it and turned the sound system on. Jessy asked Phillip if he could use the electric guitar some before his friends arrived. Phillip set the younger boy up with his guitar and let him play.

Rusty quickly went out on the Cove Skate Park and asked Billy to help him work on his tricks on the skateboard. The Cover teen had the young boy show him what he could do and from there they worked on honing Rusty’s skills.

Robert, Charles, Matthew and Darrin just talked, as they waited for their friends to arrive. Darrin, though, was interested in what he should expect at Mr. Ken’s amusement parks when he gets to them.

Matthew kiddingly told his ‘brother’ that it starts the morning that they leave. The new Cover teen told Darrin that when they wake up at what ‘dad’ calls ‘o’dark-thirty’ you feel like you want to go back to sleep, but you can’t.

Charles told him that all he’ll get for breakfast is one of Momma’s breakfast tacos and before he knows it, they’ll all load into two limos and head off for a ninety-minute drive to the airport.

Robert chimed in and added that once they get on the airplane and are at cruising altitude the flight attendant will come and ask them what they want for breakfast and then he’ll get a choice of something good to eat. But he then added that it won’t be anything like Momma Maria’s.

The four adults, Ken, Kate, Edith and Collin talked about what will happen later that day with the exchange of gag gifts and later that evening with how Santa will deliver all the presents. The ladies then wanted to know what they should expect on Christmas Day.

Collin quickly volunteered to be one of Santa’s elves to help bring down all of the presents on Christmas Eve. He teased that with eight boys there has got to be a ton of presents that Santa and Mrs. Claus need to bring. Hearing it said that way made Edith burst out laughing.

Ken laughed right along with his soon-to-be mother-in-law. He told everyone that there truly were a large number of presents that are either in his bedroom or down in the special hidden room.

Hearing Ken used the term ‘special hidden room’, Edith asked, “What special hidden room? Ken … are there … are there rooms in this house that are … well, are there rooms that are not well known to everyone?”

Big Bro Ken looked to Collin. Collin shrugged his shoulders as if to say that it was up to his Big Bro if he wanted to tell them about that room that he was sent to when those men were out to kill him.

“Ladies … what I am about to tell you only very few people know about this. When I built this house … I had hidey holes and emergency escape routes built in case … well, in case there ever were the need. And, when Collin was living with me, that need … that need did arise,” began Ken, who then explained what happened that fateful day of the attack on The Cove.

Kate and Edith were appalled at what they heard. Ken and Collin then took them down to the bottom floor and they showed them where Collin had hidden, while the attack was ongoing. Ken then told them that he hid Charles there when a man named Smokey was out to kidnap him. The man told them that beside them, and Charles, that only Robert knew of that room.

Ken then took them up to the bedrooms where he showed them the special access through the closets. He showed then what looked like an access panel to what people would think were water lines. But he showed them when you reached inside you could release the frame which became big enough that a person could slip though.

Ken then explained that the person would then climb up to the roof rafters using the ladder he had the carpenters make for that purpose. The man added that the person would make their way to the garage then down into that presently open space and out the fire escape door to the outside. He told them that Ryan, Collin’s best friend, and maybe Robert, knows about that special escape way.

Edith asked if there were lights up there for people to make their way. Ken said that there were and that they would automatically light up when someone climbed the ladder.

Kate then looked through the access portal and she saw the ladder. She asked, kiddingly, if she should try it. Ken told her that he hadn’t been up there ever since he first moved in there over six years ago, and if she was game, he’d go up there with her. Collin even said that he’d like to see how it looked. Edith said that she’d stay right there.

So, Ken, Kate and Collin climbed up the ladder to the roof rafters where Kate and Collin saw that the lights did go on and that there was a walkway running through the entire length of the house. They also saw there were arrows pointing which way the person was to go.

The three walked over to the space over the garage where there was an access panel with a spring-loaded staircase. Ken told Kate to push down on the stairs and when she did, they fell down to the empty space where Ken was going to build four bedrooms and two bathrooms after the Holidays. The three went down the stairs and Ken then pushed them back up. Ken then opened the fire escape door to show Kate the fire scape that led down to the Parking Corral.

Since they were down in that open space, above the four-car garage, Ken decided to explain to Kate, and Collin, what he intended to do there. He told them that after the Holidays his construction crew will come in and build four one-person bedrooms with a closet, as opposed to the two-person bedrooms and walk-in closet the boys now have.

Ken then added that there would also be only two bathrooms with just a toilet, a shower and sink and if there are four boys staying out there, they will have to learn to share. Lastly, Ken told them that with the leftover space they would build a storage closet for any odds and ends he didn’t know where to put. Both Kate and Collin laughed.

And since they were down out of the roof rafters, they decided to walk over to where Edith was waiting for them and surprise her.

“Mom,” called out Kate, as the three entered the bedroom.

Hearing her name startled the older woman and she was surprised when she saw her daughter and the two men come into the bedroom. Kate then explained the experience to her mother, while Ken went into the closet and closed up the access panel.

Ken further explained that when he first built the house, he wanted to make sure that if someone wanted to hold him, or his loved ones, for ransom they might let them sleep in their bedrooms. He added that he figured that with the ladder access they could easily escape.

The owner of The Cove also explained that with the hidey hole room, he figured he, or anyone, could hide there almost indefinitely because it had, if they hadn’t noticed, there was a toilet, fresh water and long storage food.

The four walked back down to the Study where they talked some more about the special escape features Ken had incorporated into the house, and after that they want back to talking about the rest of the day and tomorrow.

While they were talking, The Foyer Doorbell rang, and Ken went to see who it was, as he wasn’t paying attention to the outside. When he answered the door, he found Todd there who the owner of The Cove told to come over to talk to him about what he needed to do while he was staying at The Cove.

The owner of The Cove invited the teenager in and they both went to the Study.

“Todd, let me introduce you to my fiancée, Kate. I don’t think you ever met her. We are due to get married sometime this spring, but we haven’t set the date yet.

“Kate … Todd, he is my Beach Master and has been for what … going on three or four years now. He is going to hold down the fort while we’re all gone. He’ll take care of feeding Chief and Sarge and playing with Sarge.

Kate told the teenager that she was pleased to meet him and that they would probably be seeing one another more once she moved into The Cove come next year sometime, when her boys finish school. Todd told her likewise and then Mr. Ken took Todd upstairs to show him where he could bunk down while they were gone.

Before he went upstairs, Collin’s Big Bro also asked him to have the boys bring Chief and Sarge down, so that Todd could be properly introduced to the resident pets.

The boys and their friends met that afternoon and did what they would normally do, which was skate and play the big Pavilion games. They didn’t go swimming that afternoon as the Cover boys told them that Mr. Ken didn’t want all that noise emanating through the house with his fiancée and her mother there.

But that was OK with the boys, as they wanted to get in as much skating in as they could as they knew their Cover friends wouldn’t return until late Friday, which meant they wouldn’t get to skate again until next Saturday, and then only until three o’clock.

Phillip and all of his band mates were there that Sunday, as the Four Corners Amusement Park was closing at six o’clock, that was because of it being Christmas Eve and Nelson Sanders, the parks operations manager, wanted his employees to be home with their families. That meant the band wouldn’t be playing again until Tuesday.

The members of the band who weren’t there yesterday to see and hear Jessy play, were surprised when Phillip let his new little ‘brother’ play some with them. It seems that Phillip had been teaching him some of the chords that they use on a few of the songs, and Jessy was picking them up, although he wasn’t as fast at changing as he needed to be.

The band members who were there the previous day told the members there now that when Jessy gets better, he’ll probably take one of their places in the band. Then they all giggled. Phillip let the joke go on for a few moments until the Cover told them all that when Jessy begins living there next summer, Mr. Bindy will start teaching him, too.

Then, when he got the chance, Jessy told the boys how Mr. Bindy gave him a mini-lesson yesterday, and told him that for the little that his big ‘brother’ taught him that he was really good. Jessy even told them that he and the man played together and that was really fun.

Rusty made sure he got out on the Cove Skate Park and worked on his tricks. Billy was out there running interference for the young boy, so that none of the bigger boys ran him over. The teenager was also encouraging him with his skating and showing him how to do what he was doing even better.

Darrin and his friends sat and talked about what the Cover would probably experience over the next coming days. The Cover’s friend told him what they heard from Kevin and Kyle when they visited Mr. Ken’s amusement parks. They told him how busy the twins both were with them having to get up early, fly to the park, unpack, travel to the park, ride the rides, eat, sleep, repeat.

Sam told Darrin that they did that repeat thing five days in a row and when they got back home, they were really tired, but they told them that it was a lot of fun seeing what Mr. Ken owns and riding all of the rides.

Darrin told them that they were only visiting three parks this time because Mr. Ken needed to be back in time for his New Year’s Eve Party. The Cover said that they would visit the last two parks after the New Year and that his foster dad’s fiancée, and her family, would then stay in the area where the last park is because that is where they are from.

When Sam finished telling the Cover about what the twins experienced, Terran spoke up and told Darrin that he wished he could go one time, in person, just to see what Mr. Ken’s parks were really like. He mentioned that last summer, when Charles came back, he had Go-Pro videos of all the parks and he showed them on the big TV screen up in the Pavilion’s rafters.

Blake explained how Charles had videos of the rides, while on and off them, and the best videos where the ones he took of the roller coasters when he was on them, and then he had taken his quad-copter and had taken shots of the coasters coming down and going up the hills.

All of Darrin’s friends were telling him that he was lucky that he was getting to go and not only visit and see Mr. Ken’s amusement parks, but he was going to get to ride the rides and on top of that he would have the parks Fastest Pass which meant he wouldn’t have to wait very long to ride.

After hearing more and more about his foster dad’s amusement parks, Darrin was getting more and more excited about the trip he would be taking in two days. He only wished that he could see those videos so he would know what he would be getting to ride when he got to the parks.

So, the Cover teen decided to search out Charles to see if he would call up the amusement park videos for him, so he could see what their ’dad’s’ amusement parks looked like before he got there.

Mr. Ken showed Todd to Charles’ bedroom. He told the teenager that he could bring his clothes over sometime Tuesday and use the garage fingerprint reader to gain access to the house.

Todd told his employer that his fingerprint isn’t in that lock, so he’ll have to enter it, or give him a key. The teen also asked if there was an alarm code, otherwise he’d set the alarm off when he enters the house.

Ken Thomas had to think fast on that account. So, he told Todd that since he didn’t know how to add a person’s fingerprint to the lock that he’d have to give him a key when they went back to the Study. He then told Todd that he wouldn’t set the alarm, so that was one thing he wouldn’t have to worry about.

Since he’d shown Todd where he could bed down, he then told him that they would move both dog’s beds in there with him, as they were used to sleeping with one of the boys. The teenager said that wouldn’t be a problem for him.

With everything sorted out for where he would sleep, Mr. Ken showed Todd the bathroom he could use. The teen was amazed that there were urinals, as he entered and that there were four sinks, two enclosed toilets and a four-shower head gang shower. He told Mr. Ken that it was the first time that he ever remembered seeing the boy’s bathroom.

Mr. Ken asked Todd if he any questions, and the teen asked where would he find the pets food.

The man smiled and the two walked down the back staircase so Mr. Ken could show the teenager where they kept Chief’s special food and Sarge’s regular puppy growing food, and their doggie treats.

When they got to the Butler’s Pantry, where they kept the resident pets food stuffs, the owner of The Cove explained to Todd that with Chief expecting another litter of pups in about three weeks, he needed to be aware that she could start panting and possibly wanting to birth them. He told the teen to ask him for the vet’s phone number besides the house key when they got back to the Study.

Mr. Ken told the teen that he could raid the refrigerator for anything to eat, but if he cooked, he needed make sure he cleaned it up really good otherwise, and he teased the teen, that Momma would be after him. Mr. Ken also told him that there was copious amounts of burgers and dogs up at the Pavilion, so he could always cook those as well.

When the two retuned to the Study, Billy, Robert and Matthew were there along with Chief and Sarge. Mr. Ken introduced Todd to the resident pets and explained to them that he was going to be staying with them, while they went away for a few days.

Todd sat down in one of the big leather chairs and he got to know both Chief and Sarge. In the meantime, Mr. Ken got the teen a key to the house, and the vet’s phone number.

Darrin convinced Charles to show him the amusement parks videos. And when it was learned that the older teen Cover was going to Mr. Ken’s amusement park videos just about all of the boys rushed over to the Pavilion in order to watch them.

Rusty and Jessy were just as interested in seeing what Mr. Ken’s parks looked like, as they’ve only ever been to the Crystal Lake one, so they tried to get an up-front seat to the showing.

Charles didn’t show the park videos in any particular order, but that didn’t matter to the viewers, as the video did have an introduction title and many times there were subtitles explaining what was happing on the screen, or Charles was narrating.

Darrin enjoyed watching all of the videos. What he saw was a lot like what his friends were telling him, but this time he was actually seeing for himself what the parks looked like and how the rides operated. He saw his ‘brothers’ on the rides, including Phillip, and how much fun they were having. He was now really looking forward to this trip.

Rusty and Jessy also watched the videos with anticipation of what they would be seeing when they got to Mr. Ken’s amusement parks. Jessy saw his big ‘brother’ Phillip riding a few of the rides, so he figured he might be able to ride those, too.

What the youngster didn’t know was that all the rides had height restrictions and that he wouldn’t be allowed to ride those he was watching on the video. Even Rusty would be restricted from many of those rides as well.

It was during the video show that Billy got a call asking him to bring Chief and Sarge down to the Study.

It was while the boys were watching the videos of Mr. Ken’s amusement parks that Mackenzie and her mother, Adeline, came to The Cove to visit with Phillip.

The youngster was called over to the Main Gate to sign in his mom and grandmother and he was very happy to see them. He hugged them both and he told them that he had their Christmas presents down at the house and that he’d meet them down there.

As the two women drove down to the house, Phillip followed them in one of the golf carts. Then once there, Phillip entered the house through the garage and he quickly went to the Study to tell his ‘dad’ that his mom and grandmother were there. The boy then quickly left the Study to open the Foyer Door to the two women.

As Mackenzie and Adeline were coming into the house, Mr. Ken, Kate, Edith and Collin came around the corner, and saw Phillip hugging his mom and grandmother and thanking them for coming.

Mr. Ken went over to the two women and welcomed them to The Cove and he wished them a Merry Christmas. He then introduced the people who were with him.

“Mackenzie, Adeline … let me first introduce you to my fiancée Kate and her mother Edith. The other fine young gentleman with me is Collin. He was my first foster son. And I am very happy that you came to see Phillip on this day before Christmas,” spoke the owner of The Cove.

Kate went over to the women and shook their hands and told them how happy she was to finally meet Phillip’s family. She then told them what a wonderful boy they had in Phillip and how he was a great big ‘brother’ with her two sons.

That statement about Phillip being a big ‘brother’ to the woman’s two sons started a quick conversation where Kate explained to them how she had two young sons, aged 10 and 8, and that Phillip was teaching her youngest, Jessy, how to play the guitar. Hearing that put a big smile on Adeline’s face. Mackenzie was non-committal.

Phillip then asked his mother and grandmother if they would go down to the Great Room where he wanted to give them some Christmas presents. Then as the women walked down the stairs to the Great Room where there was a huge Christmas tree, Phillip went up to his room to retrieve their presents.

“Mom, grandma … I bought you both some Christmas presents. I used the money I earned playing at the Four Corners Amusement Park. I hope you like them,” spoke Phillip, as he gave his presents to the women.

Adeline was surprised that was why they were there as her daughter never mentioned that grandson wanted them there, so he could give them these presents. She was embarrassed that she didn’t have one for him.

As Mackenzie opened her gifts, she was surprised to find a bottle of perfume and a beautiful, colorful scarf. Adeline found in her gift boxes a beautiful colorful scarf, too, but was of a different color than her daughters. She also found a gift certificate to the spa at The Mall, which allow her to choose from a number of offerings that they sold.

Adeline hugged her grandson and thank him profusely for the wonderful Christmas gifts. She then apologized for not having a gift for him. She then looked with scorn at her daughter.

Mackenzie also thanked her son for the perfect Christmas gifts and she hugged him tight. The two women then talked with Phillip about how he was doing and was he doing well.

After Mr. Ken felt that the reunion had gone on long enough, he went down to the Great Room and asked the women if they would like to join them at their barbeque where they could continue to reminisce with Phillip.

Charles was watching the time and when it looked like it was time to start the barbeque, he stopped the videos and told the cooking team to get the burgers burned. The group was disappointed that they had to stop watching, but everyone also wanted to eat, so the barbeque went on as always.

While the boys were cooking, Charles called down to his brother Robert, to tell him that they were burning the burgers and dogs, and that he should tell everyone to come and get it.

Robert told his brother to send the other two golf carts down, so that they could all come up there to eat. Darrin and Charles manned the carts and went down to the house. There ‘dad’ Ken, Kate, Edith, Collin, Robert, Billy and Todd, along with Chief and Sarge, plus Mackenzie and Adeline, got on the golf carts and they all rode up to the Pavilion to get something to eat.

Once at the Pavilion, Rusty and Jessy ran to their mother to tell her about the videos Charles showed all of them. The arrival of two extra people, who they soon learned were their young ‘brothers’ mother and grandmother added to the festivities.

As the two young boys excitedly told their mom about watching the videos that showed Mr. Ken’s amusement park, Phillip was introducing his mom and grandmother to everyone.

Ken just stood back and listened to how the two boys breathlessly told their mom about what they couldn’t wait to see next week, when they were on their trip. Kate hugged both boys and told them to get in line and get a burger or hot dog.

As Phillip sat with his mom and Adeline after they had gotten their plate of food, ‘dad’ Ken and Kate joined them at their table with their plate of food, and they all talked as they ate. The conversation centered around Phillip and how well he was doing at school and that after Christmas Day the boy would be going on a trip to Mr. Ken’s amusement parks.

It was during that chat that Phillip unknowingly revealed to his mother that he received a check from the construction company for his injuries, during last summer’s accident. Mackenzie was curious at how much was in the check, and when she asked him about it, Phillip realized what he’d done and he told her that the check was made out to Mr. Ken, because he was his guardian, and he was going to put it into a Trust Fund for him for when he goes off to college.

Adeline told Phillip that she was happy for him that he will now have the money to go to college and not have to worry about working his way through it. Mackenzie also told her son that she was happy for him, but inwardly she was fuming that the money wasn’t hers.

After eating the women told Phillip that they needed to get a move on. They thanked Mr. Ken and the boys for fixing a wonderful barbeque for them and they both wished everyone a Merry Christmas. Phillip then used a golf cart to drive them down to their car.

As they were eating, Charles’ dad called him over to tell him that Todd would be staying in his room after they leave on Tuesday. He explained that he and his ‘brothers’ would need to move both pet’s beds into his room after they get up Tuesday morning.

Also, as they ate, a few of the boys came over to Mr. Ken and Ms. Kate and congratulated them on their engagement. The boys mentioned that with Rusty and Jessy joining The Cove sometime that summer, that there would again be lots of boys coming there to skate, help with the barbeque and swim.

The owner of The Cove told them that Rusty and Jessy’s friends might be skating and swimming, but they for sure won’t be helping too much with the barbeque. He told them they are all going to be too young to do more than fill the dispensers and set out the plates, tableware and napkins. The boys told Mr. Ken they understood what he meant, but added that any help would be well appreciated.

Charles did play more of the videos after the barbeque was all cleaned up and put away and when it was close to the time for all of their friends to head on home, the Cover teen stopped the videos.

The Covers walked their friends over to the Main Gate and they all wished one another a Merry Christmas and then everyone went their separate ways.

A few hours later, when the Cover boys came down from the Pavilion after walking their friends to the Main Gate, they found that the adults had reheated the foods from last night’s Holiday Party and all they had to was wash their hands, all the way up to their elbows, and then have a seat at the Dining Room table.

As Rusty and Jessy sat down at the table, Jessy asked, “Why did we have to wash our hands all the way up to our elbows?” The Cover boys who knew what that was all about giggled or laughed. But, at the same time, Darrin also asked what that was all about.

So, Robert explained, “It was kind of a joke my dad started when I first started to live here. It was when my friends came over and ate, in order to make sure we washed our hands really good, he would tell us to ‘wash our hands all the way up to our elbows’.”

With the tale told, everyone laughed, including Kate and Edith, because it made sense to get kids, but especially boys, to wash their hands really good.

After the dinner dishes were cleaned off and put into the dishwashers and those were turned on and the leftovers were put back into the refrigerators, Mr. Ken asked the boys to get their gag gifts and to bring them to the Great Room.

While the Cover boys went to their rooms to get the evening’s entertainment, Mr. Ken, Ms. Kate, Ms. Edith, Collin, Rusty and Jessy all headed to the Great Room, where they found comfortable seats for the exchange of the gag gifts.

The women were looking forward to seeing what the gag gifts exchange was all about, especially since when Kate married Ken next spring, this would be something that her boys would become a part of next year.

Once all the gag gifts were brought down, ‘dad’ Ken asked for them to be given to him, as he would be the one who passed them out. The man told the ladies that this way the boys wouldn’t know who was getting the next gift and thus the suspense would add to the fun.

With all the gag gifts within his reach, ‘dad’ Ken then chose one from the pile of gifts and called out the first name, “Darrin”.

Darrin came over to Mr. Ken and received his present. He looked it over and then his ‘brothers’ told him to rip the wrappings off. And that’s what the teenager did only to find a book entitled, Questions That No One Ever Asked, Or Ever Cared Too. Kate and Edith said that they didn’t get the joke.