Published: 20 Mar 2025
From the Previous Chapter:
As the two men left the Study, Ken Thomas sat back and recounted what Dennis had said about someone, one day, writing a history of what happened at The Cove. He smiled at what the reader would learn, maybe fifty years from now, from examining the events, goings-on, activities and incidents at The Cove. He also thought back to everything that did go on there at Three Finger Cove from the time he first began building it up until now.
The owner of The Cove got so engrossed at his reminiscing, that time got away from him, and that his cell phone ringing, brought him out of his focus. The phone call was from one of his sons wanting to know where he was. Mr. Ken told them to send a golf cart for him, and he’d be right up.
When Mr. Ken arrived at the Pavilion, the movie had already started. The boys had chosen to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Mr. Wayne had offered a list of eight movies from which the boys could pick including, Alice Through the Looking Glass, The Accountant, Captain America: Civil War, X-Men: Apocalypse, Star Trek Beyond, Independence Day: Resurgence and The Huntsman: Winter’s War.
Upon his arrival, Dennis told his employer where the left-over pizza was, and Mr. Ken quickly reheated a few pieces in the microwave oven, grabbed a cold drink from the soda machines, and then sat down at a table, which allowed him to watch the movie as he ate.
The popcorn machine was popping away with freshly made popcorn, and the owner of The Cove, after finishing his pizza, went over and grabbed a bag along with another drink out of one of the two soda machines. He then sat down in the more comfortable conversation pit, where the boys had left a seat for him, and resumed watching the movie from there amongst the boys. It didn’t take long after that for Robert and Charles to manipulate a seat on either side of their dad, to continue watching the movie with him.
It was close to ten o’clock when the movie was over, and the boys asked if they could go for a quick swim before they went to bed. Mr. Dennis told them to straighten up the area first, collect any stray trash and any popped popcorn and place everything in the garbage can, and then take the full bags to the dumpsters, as they head down to the house.
The boys got into action and before long the Pavilion was looking clean and the 40 plus boys were all headed down to the house, bags of trash in hand for the dumpsters, to go swimming before having their midnight snack.
Phillip and his friends, who formed the band, quickly changed into their swimsuits. The fact that they all changed at the same time made them giggle at seeing one another’s dangling bits. The boys were becoming closer not only as a band, but as friends.
All the Cover’s and their friends knew that they didn’t have a lot of time to swim, so they didn’t play the games they usually would. They just swam, jumped off the rock ledge, played some horse and just sat around and relaxed in the water, as they talked about their upcoming trip to Six Flags Fiesta Texas in a few weeks.
Sarge and Chief followed the boys down to the pool, and when the young resident pet saw all the boys in the water, he wanted to get into the pool with them, as he loved being in the water, too.
But Matthew had to hold him back to keep him from getting in the chlorinated water, because he had read that dogs who take frequent dips in the family pool may suffer from dry, itchy skin and have a dry, dull coat due to the chemicals in pool water striping the skin and coat of their natural oils. The young pup wasn’t happy at all that he couldn’t join in the fun, with so many boys swimming in the large pool of water he saw before him.
When it was close to midnight, Mr. Dennis was elected to go down to the pool and get the boys out, change and up to the Kitchen Nook for their midnight snack. The boys all moaned, it was midnight already, as they all felt that they had just gotten in the water, and now they had to get out of the pool, get changed into, at least, their skivvies and head up to the Nook for their midnight snack.
But Billy, laughing, told them to quit their bitching and then he reminded them that they’d soon have a hot breakfast served up at the Pavilion. He then asked who was volunteering to help.
When Billy mentioned the need for volunteers, Bryce asked if he could help more than he did the last time. Westin quickly spoke up and giddily told him that he could help them make the breakfast tacos. Bryce readily agreed to help, as long as they showed him what to do.
The young boys saw that many of the older teens had already changed, and were headed up to the Nook for their snack, so they rushed to the locker room to change. Once there, they shed their swimsuits, without as much as a worry about showing their boyhood to one another, as they’d already seen one another’s pride and joy a number of times before.
And after gathering all of their wet swimsuits and placing them in the industrial dryer, Phillip and his band mates, instead of wearing Pjs, as they had in the past, only wore their boxer shorts and shirts up to the Kitchen Nook.
This time, for the boy’s midnight snack, Mr. Wayne, besides having gallons of Momma Maria’s famous vanilla milk, along with gallons of chocolate and plain white milk, the Estate Master had gotten a mixture of dozens and dozens of different Krispy Kreme donuts for everyone to chow down on.
But, before long, Mr. Ken called, “Lights out!”, and made all of the boys’ head to where they had their sleeping bags, and then he told them, “No staying up talking, as seven o’clock comes very early for those who are helping to fix breakfast.”
The boys headed to their sleeping bags and, of course, they all had to do some talking before settling down and going to sleep. Phillip and his friends were no different. Bruce did ask again if he could help with the breakfast tacos. Phillip told the twelve-year-old that he’d have to ask Billy, and if he said it was OK, then he and Westin would show him what to do.
When Billy woke up Phillip, and his friends, the young boys couldn’t believe it was seven o’clock already. They all felt like they had just fallen asleep.
“Come on; get up,” whispered Phillip, to his friends. “Just go pee, wash your hands, and then get dressed,” added the young Cover, who led the group to the half bath just off the Study, as they had joined Billy to sleep up in the MRS Room.
But unlike the Men’s Party Restroom down in the Great Room, the half-bath off the Study only had a toilet, and the boys had to bend their morning pointer down in order to hit the water in the bowl. This was the first time that any of them had truly shown their morning wood to any of the other band members. And because they were still half-asleep, they truly hadn’t thought about what they were doing until after they got dressed and were fully awake.
It was while they were dressing that Ty asked, to no one in particular, “Did we just, you know, … did we just show our … our morning … boners to each other?”
The question hung in the air for a few moments before all the boys just burst out laughing. It would be another turning point in their relationship, and an experience that would cement their friendship for the years to come.
Billy heard the young band laughing, and he yelled over to them to get a move on, as they had a lot to do, and he needed everyone up at the Pavilion getting the breakfast fixed.
Robert and his friends, as well as Charles and his friends, were already up at the Pavilion when Billy, Phillip and the young Cover’s friends finally arrived.
Robert and Eric had already started making the pancakes, while Charles was relegated to crisping the already cooked bacon, since Logan wasn’t there that morning. It wasn’t until Phillip and his friends arrived that Eric decided he needed to begin cooking the scrambled eggs that were needed for the breakfast tacos. But Phillip asked him to wait until he and Westin had washed their hands, again, and were ready to start the process.
In the meantime, Phillip talked to Billy and told him that Bryce wanted to help make the tacos and he and Westin were going to show him, and let him help so now there would be at least three people who would know what to do in case one of them weren’t there the next time they had a sleepover. Billy agreed, but told his younger ‘brother’ that he would be responsible for any tacos that weren’t up to par. The two shared a knowing smile.
After washing their hands and getting the area clean where they were going to fix the breakfast tacos, the three boys got the tortillas and crispy bacon and then told Eric they were ready for some scrambled eggs. A few minutes later the three boys had a large pile of scrambled eggs to start fixing the tacos with.
Westin and Phillip showed Bryce how they fixed the taco by taking a scoop of scrambled eggs and folding over a long piece of crisp bacon and putting it in a tortilla and then folding and rolling it as Momma Maria showed them. The two boys then had Bryce take a tortilla and fix one just as they had.
Bryce didn’t do any better than the first time that Momma showed them how to make their first breakfast tacos. But as the new taco maker made more and more breakfast tacos they came together better and better. The three boys had decided that they would eat those misshapen tacos for breakfast, so the other boys wouldn’t complain.
Of course, the other boys had volunteered to set up the serving area and get the coffee maker going, so the adults would have fresh coffee ready for when they came up to the Pavilion for their breakfast.
It was about 7:45 when the remaining boys began arriving at the Pavilion for breakfast. And just as in previous sleepovers, they weren’t allowed to take too many pancakes and rashers of crispy bacon at first, in order that everyone would have a chance to have an initial full plate. And today they were at least allowed to take two breakfast tacos along with either a cold drink from the soda machines, or to finish off the vanilla, chocolate or plain milk.
When the adults arrived, the first thing they looked for was the fresh hot coffee, and they were happy the boys had it ready for them. The three then fixed their plates with a couple of breakfast tacos, some additional pieces of crispy bacon, extra pancakes and a large scoop of scrambled eggs. After the adults had fixed their plates, the boys could now have additional pancakes, breakfast tacos and scrambled eggs that the cooks would allow, as they had yet to fix their plates.
For dessert, Mr. Wayne brought up what remained of the Krispy Kreme donuts from last night’s midnight snack. The adults had already picked out the two donuts they each wanted to have with their coffee, so the boys had what remained to choose from to claim for their own finish to a wonderful breakfast.
Phillip’s friends were again amazed at what Mr. Ken had provided for them to experience during the sleepover – the pizza party, the movie, the swim, and now the breakfast that was complete with pancakes, crispy bacon, scrambled eggs and breakfast tacos. And what they had yet to come was their chance to build their own sub sandwich from different breads, meats, cheeses along with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and mayo and Italian dressing. Then they could add sides of chips and pickles, to boot.
As the boys finished eating and cleaned up their plates and area, Mr. Ken called for the boys’ attention.
“Boys … another successful sleepover, I’d say, wouldn’t you?” asked the owner of The Cove.
The boys all agreed and applauded.
“As you know, your Cover friends, with some help from a few of you … put on this breakfast each and every time there is a sleepover. And if you’ve ever volunteered to be up here at o’dark thirty, and helped set up the service area, make the pancakes, scrambled eggs, or the breakfast tacos, you know how much effort goes into putting on this wonderful breakfast.
“So, with that said … I want us all to give a good round of applause to your Cover friends, and to those boys who helped this morning,” offered Mr. Ken.
With that said, the boys all applauded whole heartedly and Billy, Robert and Charles all stood up and took a bow. “Stand up Phil,” called out Billy. “You, too, Matthew,” added Robert.
So, Matthew and Phillip both stood up and took a bow as their ‘brothers’ had done. The boys all applauded some more.
It was then that Phillip saw Mr. Bindy’s car enter The Cove and he hurried to grab a golf cart to head down to his guitar lesson. All the boys laughed when they learned why their friend was rushing to catch up with the car that just entered the estate.
“Thank you, boys, for expressing your appreciation to your Cover friends for putting the sleepover on for you. And don’t forget that in a few weeks, on that Saturday of the three-day weekend, we’re all going to Six Flags for more fun. Make sure your parents know about it and that there will be chaperones, as we’ve had in the past. Have them call either me, or Mr. Wayne, if they have questions.
“I will, again, buy your dinner, between five and six o’clock. But you will be responsible for any drinks, snacks and games you may want to play during the day, so make sure you bring some money with you to get you through the day.
“We’ll leave The Cove around nine o’clock, so you should be here no later than eight thirty. We’ll try to return here sometime around eleven, but that will depend on traffic leaving the park. So, make sure your parents know not to be here too early to pick you up. Oh, and the rain date will be that Sunday,” finished Mr. Ken.
After Mr. Ken’s little speech, he, Mr. Wayne and Mr. Dennis all retired down to the Study to talk some. There they covered what was going to happen around The Cove for the next few weeks, as the owner of The Cove saw them, and then the two Estate Masters were free to leave for the day leaving Mr. Ken, as the de facto adult on the estate. But Wayne and Dennis told their boss that they would stay until they built their own personal sub sandwich, and then they’d head on home.
The boys finished cleaning up after breakfast, and then they went about skating. The band got their instruments out and tuned them up before they began practicing, minus Phillip, for their gigs later on in October. The Cover joined his bandmates fifty-five minutes later, after his guitar lesson was over.
While the other boys skated, or played the Pavilion games, Matthew had Sarge practice the tricks they worked on last weekend, and then the pre-teen added another one. This time Matthew wanted to get Sarge to ‘stay’, and come to him when he called for him.
Matthew started by telling Sarge to stay by holding his hand with his palm facing the puppy. The Cover then walked away hoping Sarge would stay. Initially, the puppy didn’t stay where Matthew wanted him to stay, and had to repeat the command. After three tries Sarge got the idea and remained where he was until his master called for him. It was only then that Sarge received his treat.
Matthew walked about ten feet the first few times, before he called Sarge to him. Then the Cover increased the distance to about twenty feet before calling the new resident pet to him, and then giving the puppy his treat. The distance was increased to around forty feet, and when Sarge did that successfully, a few times, he received a double treat.
Matthew praised his puppy for learning the new command, and then he decided to see if he could teach another trick to the new puppy. This time the pre-teen Cover decided to see if he could get Sarge to shake hands. That was an easy trick for Sarge to learn, and he received a number of treats for doing such a good job of learning how to shake hands. Chief was there to supervise all of her son’s training.
When it came time to fix lunch, Billy, Robert and Charles gathered Matthew, Phillip and the morning volunteers to set up the serving area, and prepare the tomatoes, lettuce and onions.
Bryce was old enough to learn how to use the mandolin, so he was given some on-the-job-training on how to cut the onions. The boys laughed, while the new trainees’ eyes watered as he sliced the onions and plated them.
As the serving line was being prepared, Robert took the six-seat golf cart down to the house to get his dad, and the other two men to bring them up to the Pavilion, so they could fix their own sub sandwich. The boys waited for the men to arrive, so they could go through the line first and then they followed right behind.
As Phillip and his bandmates ate, they talked about the name for their band. Bryce brought out the list of all the names they had all agreed upon, and read them out to remind everyone. The list included Point of Departure, Deep Seated, Pavilion, Adolescent, Straightforward, Period of Transition, and Accommodation. The twelve-year-old then asked if anyone had any other names they wanted to bring up for consideration.
The seven boys sat there eating their subs thinking of more names, and as they thought of something they called them out. The new names that they came up with were Boys of the Lake, Breakfast Tacos, Sleepover, Lakeside Boys and Come Together.
They all laughed when Bryson suggested Breakfast Tacos and Ty proposed Sleepover. But they sort of liked Boys of the Lake and Lakeside Boys, but they thought Come Together was too much like an old song they once heard.
It was Phillip who then spoke up and told them that they were procrastinating about picking a name, and he felt they needed to choose one and move on. He asked Bryce to review the names, one more time, and he asked the band to vote on each one, as he read them out.
After the vote, the band names that five of the seven boys liked were Point of Departure, Pavilion, Period of Transition and Lakeside Boys. Phillip told the band that tomorrow they needed to choose one of those four names and he asked Bryce to email the names to each of them tonight.
The young Cover told all of the band members to seriously think about all four of the names tonight. The boys all agreed they would come to The Cove tomorrow with what they considered was the best name for the band.
After lunch was cleaned up, many of the boys decided to go swimming, since they could stay until six o’clock that Saturday evening. Matthew decided not to swim, as he didn’t want Sarge to be around the pool, and he’d have to fight to keep the resident puppy from going in. They just practiced the learned commands.
When it was time for the boys to leave, Mr. Ken made sure he was up at the Main Gate. He wanted to talk to the parents of the band members to invite them to stay at The Cove tomorrow when they dropped off their son. He told them that he had something important that he wanted to talk to them about. They all asked him what it was about, but all he would tell them was that it would take between thirty and forty minutes and it was a special consideration for their sons.
At dinner later, Phillip asked his ‘dad’ if, why he asked his friends’ parents to stay at The Cove tomorrow, when they dropped off their sons, was because he was going to give them their coins.
‘Dad’ Ken smiled back at the boy and told him that he would talk to the parents, and it would be up to them to decide if their sons would get a coin. The man then reminded the young Cover that if some of the boys don’t get a coin, then he can’t tell the others what the coin is all about.
Phillip answered that he knew that, but he hoped that all the parents would agree to let their sons have a commemorative coin. The youngster then put on a big smile. Mr. Ken smiled back at him and then ruffled his hair.
The Cover boys got to race the Go-Karts that Saturday night. Phillip knew he had to drive hard, if he wanted to finish in front of the other drivers in the group that went out on the track when the green light was lit. Of course, after winning a time, or two, he told himself it would be nice to win again, so he was focused when the race started.
The five Covers started towards the middle-end of the pack of twelve drivers and they had to work their way up to the front. Robert was the first to get to the front, but it took him more than half of the regular ten-lap race to get there. Phillip was having a difficult time working his way to even sixth, as he started tenth in the pack of strong drivers.
As for Billy and Charles, they worked their way to third and fourth respectively, while Matthew didn’t care if he won, or not, and was just driving his kart and enjoying being out on the track.
‘Dad’ Ken had the track manager give the boys two additional laps that night. None of the divers knew that, and the other strong drivers out on the course were able to use those extra laps to pressure Robert for that first-place spot. And, by the end of the race, the fifteen-year-old Cover was overtaken, and lost the race on the last half of the last lap.
The Covers stopped over at Mr. Ken’s Kreamy Kone for ice cream sundaes, and before they departed the ice cream store, they purchased a dish of vanilla for both Chief and Sarge. This will be the first time Chief will have gotten any ice cream since Mr. Ken told her she shouldn’t have the sugar laden treat, due to her carrying her litter of pups. And it will be the first time Sarge will have tasted what his mother has truly loved.
As the Covers were driving home, Phillip asked, “‘Dad’, who’s going to give which resident pet their dish of ice cream?”
‘Dad’ Ken thought about the question for a few moments and then decided that Matthew would give Sarge his small dish of vanilla ice cream, and Phillip would give Chief her regular dish of ice cream, since she was his responsibility.
When the Covers entered the Kitchen Nook, both Matthew and Phillip called for their dog to come there. But that was all for show, as both resident pets were already there waiting, wagging their tails, waiting for the boys and owner to enter.
“Chief,” began Phillip, “I have your favorite treat for you – ice cream.”
Upon hearing she had ice cream, Chief ran around in circles before sitting down in front of Phillip, and waiting for him to put it down. Then as soon as the youngster put the dish down in front of her the older resident pet began devouring it as fast as she could.
Sarge watched his mom eating something that he had no idea of what it was. Then Matthew called out, “Sarge, sit. I have something for you, too.” The pre-teen then placed the cold concoction down in front of the resident puppy, and told him it was vanilla ice cream, and it was what his mom was eating.
Sarge looked down at the frozen item and licked his lips and then looked up at his master and was waiting for the puppy master to tell him he could eat it. And as soon as Matthew told the puppy he could eat what was in front of him, Sarge went at the cold treat just as his mother had.
Sarge didn’t have as much to eat as his mom did, and that meant that the two resident pets finished their cups of ice cream about the same time. And the Covers could tell by the grins on their muzzles, when they finished and sat down, that they both enjoyed the cold treat.
It was getting late, so Mr. Ken asked the boys to head up to their rooms to relax and settle down, and that he’d be up shortly. Matthew took Sarge outside to empty his bladder, and then the two went up to his room. Then, before long, ‘dad’ Ken walked up the stairs and started at Billy’s room.
Billy asked about going to see his mom, when Mr. Ken entered his room. The foster dad asked the teenager if he had talked to Mr. Wayne yet about a date. The teen said that he had, and that the Estate Master indicated that 21st of October would be a good time to go, if nothing came up.
The teen also asked about adding more money to his mother’s commissary account. The foster dad told the teen that he should talk to Mr. Chris about that, and to give the man the money so he could make the arrangements to have it sent. Billy hugged the man and thanked him for everything he’s done for him, and for making it so that his mother can have a better life in prison.
When the two separated, Mr. Ken saw some tears fall from the teenager’s eyes. He smiled at the teen, and told him that he was a good and loving person, and his mother would be proud of him, as the person he had turned out to be. Billy smiled back at his foster dad, as he wiped the tears from his eyes.
Before he left, Mr. Ken told the teenager that he’d put the date on his calendar, but he wasn’t going to promise anything, until he looked at his schedule to see if anything might conflict with the date. Billy thanked him for stopping by and talking to him.
In Robert’s room, the teen’s dad told him about Bill choosing a date to go to visit his mom, and that he’d check to see if he could make that happen. Robert hugged his dad upon hearing that as he was really wanting to see his mom before the Holidays, and knew that would also be the day that he’d get to go and visit his own mother, too. The dad reminded his son that he had to check his schedule before he could commit to the date.
Robert also asked if he could add more money to his mother’s commissary account. The teen’s dad told him to talk to Mr. Chris and to give the man the amount of money he wanted him to send to his mom’s account. Robert told his dad that he would, as soon as he got home from school on Monday. The two shared a hug before the man left to go to the next teen’s room.
The next room ‘dad’ Ken visited was Charles’. The teen hugged his dad upon the man’s entering, and he quickly asked about when he could invite more of their classmates over to skate, and have a barbeque. The teen’s dad asked him to find a date that won’t interfere with other things scheduled at The Cove, and to talk to Mr. Wayne. The man then told his son that depending on the date he may, or may not, be there.
Charles asked his dad what he meant. Dad Ken told his son that depending on the date he might have other commitments, and he might be on the road. Charles asked him for an example and the teen’s dad told him that he and Mr. Walthers were going to attend IAAPA, the International Attraction and Amusement Park Association Expo in Florida.
Charles asked his dad what the Expo was all about. So, the teen’s dad explained that the Expo showcased new amusement rides, midway games and foods and he and Ben needed to see what new things were being introduced to the industry for them to consider adding to their parks.
Charles smiled and then asked if he could go, too. The teen said that it would be the perfect introduction for him to get to meet the movers and shakers of the industry. He reasoned that when he begins to work at one of his dad’s parks after graduation from college, he would already know the people in the industry, and would already have some contacts.
Dad Ken smiled at his son’s desire to work in the amusement park industry. He knew the teen had a lot of years to go before he would know everything about the business, and what the man loved about his son was that his mind was always looking at the way the amusement park was set up, and the way it could possibly do things better.
Before dad Ken left Charles’ room, he told his son he wasn’t going to guarantee that he could go along, as he didn’t know the dates. The man also told him that had to consider if it would interfere with his schooling, and also what his brothers would say about him going and their staying back home. Charles smiled at just thinking about the possibility he might get to go with his dad, and see something that sounded awesome.
In Matthew’s room, Sarge was in his crate and he barked as soon as ‘dad’ Ken knocked on the doorframe. Matthew told his puppy to quiet down, and to come over and meet their ‘dad’.
When Sarge came over to Mr. Ken and the pup smelled him, he knew exactly who he was, and he started wagging his tail and then got down and turned on his back and enjoyed getting a belly rub by the man. Matthew watched the two, and then asked his ‘dad’ if he really was going to let them have another day that they could invite their classmates over to skate, and have a barbeque.
The question surprised Mr. Ken, as Matthew wasn’t one to want to invite strangers, especially girls over to The Cove. So, ‘dad’ Ken asked the pre-teen why he was asking about having the classmates over. Matthew sort of hemmed and hawed over the answer, but eventually got out that when they did the first one, he really enjoyed it, and when Charles mentioned wanting to do it again, he thought that it would be good to have other classmates over.
‘Dad’ Ken grabbed the boy and hugged him. He told Matthew that he was finally coming along and beginning to understand what his ‘brothers’ already knew, that he needed to build a circle of friends beyond the ones he already had. Matthew enjoyed the closeness he had with the man, and only wished he could be adopted like Robert and Charles had been.
Matthew told his ‘dad’ that he didn’t want to get too close to his classmates because of the way he first came to The Cove, but he knows that he and his mom won’t get together for another three years, or so, and he hopes by then that he can be adopted by his ‘dad’, and he won’t ever have to live with his mother who told him that she was going to kill him, when then get back living together.
‘Dad’ Ken told the pre-teen that his lawyer, Bill Jackson, was working on that issue, and they had until his mother was being released from prison to get her to either sign her release of parental control, or they find a legal way to keep her in prison, or for them to not to ever be united after her release. The two shared a hug before the man left to go to Phillip’s room.
His last stop that night was Phillip’s room. Phillip was strumming on his acoustic guitar and smiled when the man knocked on the door. Of Course, the first question the young Cover had for his ‘dad’ was, again, about the coins for his bandmates.
“‘Dad’, are you going to talk to my friend’s parents tomorrow about giving them their coins?” asked the youngster.
“Yes, Phillip, that is my intention. I’ll explain the coins to them, and it will be up to them to decide if their sons can have it,” answered ‘dad’ Ken.
“I hope they will,” spoke up Phillip. “I mean … I know there really isn’t a chance that they would have to use them, but … well, … look what happened to Charles’ friends. They were out at The Mall and … and they got attacked by some older high school guys. Who would have thought?”
“You make a good point, Phillip. But just like with Richard and David, no one … no one knows what will befall them at any time. Let’s just hope that the parents will agree as your ‘brothers’ friend’s parents did. We’ll see tomorrow.
“So, … have you picked a name for your band yet?” asked ‘dad’ Ken, trying to change the subject.
“No, sir,” replied Phillip. “We narrowed it down to about four names. And we decided that tomorrow we’ll choose the name. We’ve come up with at least twenty-five names, or maybe more, but it’s time we picked a name,” finished the young Cover.
‘Dad’ Ken told the youngster to sleep well, and before he left, they shared a hug. Then, as the man walked out into the hallway, he saw Matthew and Sarge, on his lead, walk towards the stairs, he figured they were headed outside. The man was happy to see that the puppy master was doing his best to ensure Sarge emptied his bladder before going to bed, and was training the resident pup to pee before going to bed.
As he walked to his retreat, Ken Thomas decided to stop in the Study to review his calendar before he forgot about telling Bill and Robert about taking them to visit their mothers.
The first thing the man did was enter Saturday 21 October in his calendar for the two teens to visit their moms. He then looked over the other dates he had entered: 6 Oct – Walthers puppy comes for the three-day weekend; 7-9 Oct 3-day weekend Trip to Fiesta Texas, Kate & her boys, mom?; 8 Oct Marina Seafood Wharf & Steak House Restaurant Grand Opening; 16-18 Oct Trip w/Kate to Dad?; 10-12 Nov 3-Day Trip w/Phillip; 13-17 Nov IAAPA, Orlando, FL; 18 Nov Jules Wedding; 18-26 Nov Thanksgiving Week & Kate and boys and mom?; 16-21 Dec Trip to Parks?; 22-23 Dec Holiday Parties?; 25 Dec Christmas Day; 26-29 Trip to Parks?; 31 Dec New Year’s Eve party and 8 Jan – Boys back to school.
Seeing there were too many dates to seriously focus on spread out on the small screen of his cell phone, Ken wrote everything down in order to get a better perspective over his upcoming schedule. After taking a good look, he shook his head. He knew he would be busy in the upcoming months, but he didn’t believe he was going to be that busy.
The man then sat back to review what his life was like before Collin and the rest of the boys came into it; he knew that it was boring and dull. And, yes, since their arrival over the last four years, there have been some very low points, many heartaches and tons of tears. But they were, by far, outnumbered by the joy, the love, the laughs and the satisfaction of making all of those boy’s lives better, and he knew it was all worth every minute of it.
Ken Thomas then looked at the time, and knew he also needed to get to bed. So, he turned off the lights in the Study, and headed to his retreat to drain his own dragon, and then crawl into his large bed and get a good night’s rest. He did, and so did the rest of the Covers.
The saga of Three Finger Cove continues. Let Chowhound know you are reading his story: Chowhnd at Gmail dot Com
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