Matthew had his dream that night, but this time it showed him all four department stores and the armored truck stopping at all of them. The dream showed him the order that the armored truck would take to get to each store, and it showed him when the four men would attempt to rob the truck. But the dream stopped there. It didn’t’ show him where exactly the robbery would take place nor what happened afterward.
“You had your dream again last night, didn’t you?” quietly asked Max, when he saw his friend was awake.
“How do you know?” quickly asked Matthew.
“Because … you kept tossing and turning. Even Chief got up and went someplace else to sleep,” replied Max.
“Oh … yeah … the dream … it had all the stores in it. And this time they looked like what you found on the internet for me. And, it … it also showed me my mom’s friends … it showed them trying to rob the armored truck. It didn’t’ show me where or what happened, though.
“I guess what I overheard my mom and those men talking about … I guess it made me finally remember it in my dreams. Max … I sure hope what I told Mr. Dan and those detectives isn’t just that, a dream,” wondered Matthew.
“Matthew … my bet is … if you heard your mom and her friends talking about robbing that armored truck, then your dream is probably true. Maybe you need to talk to Mr. Ken when he wakes up and tell him what you saw in your dream. Just like yesterday. It can’t hurt,” advised Max.
The other boys heard their friend’s conversation and whispered they agreed with Max. They told Matthew he needed to wait until he knew his ‘dad’ was awake, and tell him what his dream said. Matthew thought about that for a few moments. He looked outside and seeing it was just getting light he decided he’d try to go back to sleep. The other boys followed suit.
Mr. Ken arose at 8:40, that morning. It was the second late night that week and his body was telling him he needed to get back into his old routine. He told his body to wait until Saturday morning and the next three days and tell him then. The man laughed at his own thoughts as he walked to his bathroom to relieve the pressure on his bladder.
Momma Maria was busy that morning. She had to stop and pick up the 150 breakfast tacos she ordered the previous day, so the boys would have something to eat when they woke up. She also picked up 6 more gallons of milk hoping there was some still leftover from the previous night’s late-night snack.
The boys started to wake up about the time Mr. Ken had. Largely, they stayed in their sleeping bags and talked to their friends, but mostly to let their morning flagpoles go down. Some boys couldn’t wait any longer and they received some whistles as they walked to the Men’s Restroom under the stairs with their boxer briefs tented way out. The whistleblowers received a fickle finger of fate for their catcalls. There were loads of laughs out in the Great Room.
Matthew was one of the boys who couldn’t wait. He told himself he should have used the restroom when he was up talking to Max, but now he couldn’t wait. Max saw his friend’s condition and giggled to himself. He figured he looked that way when he woke in the morning. He quickly ran to catch up with his friend.
Momma Maria arrived a little past 9 a.m. She figured that would be a good time to show up with the cold milk and hot breakfast tacos. When the woman walked into the Kitchen Nook, her boss, Mr. Ken, was sitting at the table reading his morning newspaper and drinking a cup of hot coffee.
“Good morning, Momma,” said Mr. Ken, without raising his head to see who it was. If he had he would have seen she had her hands full of breakfast tacos and still had 6 gallons of milk to bring inside.
Chief was up in the Nook, and she saw Momma Maria had her hands full, so she barked very loud to get Mr. Ken’s attention. When the man looked up he saw she was setting her package on the counter.
“You need any help, Momma?” asked Mr. Ken.
She smiled and said she could use four more hands to bring in the milk. Mr. Ken got up and went out to the garage to get a wheeled cart and took it out to her car. They loaded the milk on the cart and Mr. Ken wheeled the cart into the Kitchen Nook.
About that time, a few boys came upstairs hoping they would find something to eat for breakfast. Mr. Ken asked them to go back downstairs and start waking up the rest of the boys. He told the boys to make sure they were dressed appropriately before coming up to the Nook as Momma Maria was in the house. The boys laughed at the reference and headed back to the Great Room.
“‘Dad’, ‘dad’, ‘dad’,” called out Matthew, as he and Max hurried to the Kitchen Nook closely followed by the rest of Matthew’s friends.
“What’s up sport?” asked ‘dad’ Ken.
“My dream … it was in full color and more information last night, ‘dad’. It showed me … it showed me the order they are going to watch the armored truck and right after the last stop they’ll rob it, the truck that is,” said Matthew.
“How certain are you of this, Matthew?” asked ‘dad’ Ken.
“‘Dad’ … all my friends … they all agree that if I heard my mom and her friends talking my mind was showing me what they were talking about. ‘Dad’, my dream … it told me the order the stores would have the armored truck visit,” explained Matthew.
“Matthew, come with me,” said Mr. Ken.
Matthew started to follow and his friends weren’t’ sure if they should follow. But, Matthew nodded to them to come with him and they quickly followed.
All the boys filed into the Study right after Mr. Ken and Matthew and found a place on the floor to sit. Mr. Ken smiled at the way the seven friends stuck together and was inwardly happy that Matthew had chosen such good friends.
Mr. Ken picked up his desk phone and called Dan Fischer.
“Dan, Matthew had his dream again last night, but this time … this time it told him the order in which the armored truck would visit the stores,” said Mr. Ken into the handset.
“Matthew, in what order did your dream tell you the stores would be visited by the armored truck?” asked Mr. Ken of his foster son.
Mr. Ken told Dan what Matthew just told him the order was in the dream. The man listened to what Dan had to say and his eyes lit up after hearing what the Sheriff’s Lieutenant had to say.
“Matthew … Mr. Dan wants to know what else your dream told you.
Matthew told him that the truck would be robbed right after the last store was visited. Mr. Ken told Dan who thanked him for that information and then hung up.
“Boys… needless to say, you aren’t to say anything about this until later tonight. Matthew will call you as soon as he knows something. Let’s go eat?” finished Mr. Ken.
Robert was waiting outside the Study when he heard what his dad told the boys. So, when his dad walked out the teen asked his dad what weren’t the boys supposed to say. Dad Ken told him that if he told him then too many more people would know. Mr. Ken then grabbed his son across the shoulders and the two of them walked to the Kitchen Nook for breakfast.
The tacos were either egg, bacon and cheese, or egg and bacon, or bean and cheese. Momma told everyone they were labeled and for them not to take more than three each. She also poured glasses of the remaining milk from last night and then proceeded to make more of the vanilla milk as there wasn’t any left from the previous night.
There was no assigning of who would eat first. When Momma Maria told the boys they could dig in and whoever was the closet got theirs first. The boys then took a glass of their preferred milk and they knew to take napkins with them, as well. Some of the boys stayed in the Nook to eat, some went out into the garage, while others went outside to the ramps and the cool fresh air.
Once all the boys had their breakfast in front of them, the adults sat and ate. While Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne ate, the Estate Master learned what Matthew had dreamt and the call to Dan Fischer. Wayne also learned that what Matthew had to tell Dan was what they had already figured out. Mr. Ken told Wayne that he couldn’t wait until that was all over.
After helping Momma Maria clean up and straighten the Kitchen Nook, they all went outside to the ramps. Robert tried to get Matthew to tell him what he and their ‘dad’ were talking about that morning, but Matthew told him he couldn’t tell until later that night.
Robert and Charles went to Matthew’s friends to see if they could get them to tell them what the meeting that morning was all about. But the youngsters told the Covers they promised Mr. Ken they wouldn’t talk about it until Matthew called them later that night. Robert and Charles were disappointed they couldn’t find out what was going on.
The boys eventually went inside to gather up their belongings, and took them all outside to wait for their parents to come and get them.
“Max, I hope you had fun with us yesterday and last night,” said Matthew to his friend.
“Matthew, this has been the best week I’ve ever had. The party Friday night was awesome. Then you asked me to go with you to Six Flags, and I had so much fun with all of you. Then, when you invited me to the sleepover I was in seventh heaven. I couldn’t believe how much my life has changed and I owe it all to you. Thank you so much, Matthew,” said a teary-eyed Max.
At lunchtime, the parents came to collect their sons. Of course, as usually happened, the parents talked to one another and it took them about 30 minutes for them all to leave.
Evelyn Staffans searched out Mr. Ken to thank him for everything he’d done for her son. She told him how much livelier Max had been ever since he met Matthew, and she owed it all to him. But, Mr. Ken told her it was all Matthew’s doing. The owner of The Cove told her Matthew has a knack for seeing through people, and he saw something in Max.
Then, Mr. Ken told Evelyn that Max was now invited to come over any time they were home and next Wednesday would be the first time they would be home after Christmas. Evelyn was very surprised by the invitation. Mr. Ken told her that as long as Max didn’t cause any problems, and helped the boys with some of the things they do with fixing their late lunch, he would always be welcome.
The Cove’s owner explained to her that the other boys usually arrived around noon and went home by six when there isn’t school the next day and by five if there was school the following day. Evelyn Staffans called Max over to tell him about his being invited to come over when the other boys came over. Max was ecstatic that he was now included and all because he promised Matthew he wouldn’t be a bully anymore. The youngster began to cry.
Matthew saw his ‘dad’ talking to Ms. Staffans and when she called her son over he went along. He heard what his ‘dad’ told her about Max coming over, and he was happy he said that because he was going to ask his ‘dad’ about that himself. Then, when Matthew saw Max break down and cry he went to him and held him along with his mom.
“Max, you are my friend, and, as long as you are, you will always be welcomed here,” offered Matthew, the youngest Cover.
The Covers got back inside the house by 1 p.m. Momma knew what would happen when all the boys left and knew from experience that the adults talked and were caught up with one another. When everyone was in the Kitchen Nook, Momma served the Covers their lunch. As everyone had their meal, the leftover spaghetti, in front of them, Mr. Ken asked Momma Maria to fix her own plate and to sit down and join them for lunch.
Once lunch was over and everyone helped to clean up the Kitchen Nook, Mr. Ken asked his three employees to join him and his ‘boys’ down at the Christmas Tree. He told them he wanted to have an employee Christmas with them down there.
The boys were all excited. This was their first Christmas at Three Finger Cove and it had already been something they would never forget. Everyone gathered around the Christmas tree where Mr. Ken had Mr. Wayne and Mr. Chris move some of the furniture, so everyone would be comfortable and could enjoy the brightly lit tree and receive their gifts.
“Momma, Chris and Wayne, I want to thank you for being a part of The Cove. You’ve all been great employees and have gone above and beyond your job description to make The Cove a great place not only for me, but for the boys as well.
“The boys have gone out shopping and picked out gifts for each of you. I’ll start with Momma. Momma this gift is from … Robert,” announced Mr. Ken.
Momma Maria took the heavy gift graciously and slowly unwrapped it. Upon opening the present, she recognized it as a Yankee Candle, with the scent she adored. The woman thanked the teenager for getting her that wonderful gift by giving him a big hug and a kiss on his cheek.
“Mr. Chris, the boys went in and bought this for you. They all thought about what would be a great present for you, and so after deciding on what to get you, they all chipped in. So, this present is from all of them,” declared Mr. Ken.
Mr. Chris took the heavily wrapped box and immediately noticed his wife hadn’t wrapped it. He thanked the boys for not only buying his gift together, but he also thanked them for doing such a good job in wrapping it.
The Estate Manager couldn’t figure out what on earth the boys could imagine buying for him. The man knew the twins had only been there three months and Matthew had only been there seven weeks, so he couldn’t figure out how they would know what to get him.
On top of that, Mr. Chris never remembered talking to his employer about what he would need or even wanted. Mr. Chris slowly took the beautiful bow off the wrapping paper, and then he began slowly removing the wrapping paper.
The Estate Manager was taking so long getting the wrapping paper off the box; Matthew yelled, “Rip it off! We want to see your face when you open it.” The boys all agreed.
Mr. Chris did just that. He ripped the paper off the box, and then was left with a nondescript box with no writing or indication of what may be in it. The man popped off the end tabs of the box and then reached in and pulled out a beautiful soft leather briefcase. It was then he noticed it had his initials monogrammed on the flap.
“Boys, this … this is beautiful. I … I would never have thought to ask for something this … wonderful. It will definitely come in handy for me when I take papers back and forth from The Cove. Thank you each and every one of you,” offered Mr. Chris.
The man then shook each boy’s hand as he personally thanked he lads.
“OK, now that Mr. Chris’ gift was given and kindly received, let me see who gets the next gift. OK … here it is. This one is for … Momma Maria. It is from Kevin. It isn’t very heavy, so I wonder what it could be. They say big things come in small packages. Here, this is for you, Momma,” finished Mr. Ken.
Momma Maria took the small, but very nicely wrapped gift from her boss, Mr. Ken. She shook it to see if it rattled, but it didn’t. So, she started to unwrap the present. Then, remembering what the boys said to Mr. Chris, after taking the nice bow off the package she ripped the wrapping paper off the wrapped box. The boys cheered.
The woman opened the small box and then took out a certificate.
“Thises Spas Certificates entitles thes lady names hereons to fours Spas Treatments of hers choices,” read Momma Maria. “Its says Iss cans choose froms hots stones massages, reflexologyes, saunas or steams rooms sessions, facials tos includes peels, bodys treatments, manicures ands ors pedicures, waxings, bodys wraps and salts glows.
“Kevins, thisis is a wonderfuls gifts to gets a womans. Manys mens, marrieds mens in particulars, nevers thinks hows muchs a womans woulds enjoys thises pamperings thises Spas gives. Momma thanka yous Kevins. Comes heres and lets Momma gives yous a Momma hugs.”
Kevin walked over to Momma Maria who not only gave the older twin a hug; she also gave him a kiss on his cheek for being such sweet boy. Kevin came away a bit red faced, but with a big smile on it, as well. Mr. Ken had a huge smile on his face, too. Kevin’s decision to get Momma a Spa Certificate was a hit with the woman.
“OK, now, let me see who this next Christmas gift is for. … Oh, I see … it is another present for … Momma Maria. Momma … this gift is from Charles,” revealed Mr. Ken.
Mr. Ken handed the gift over to Momma. She felt how heavy it was and then shook it. She was trying to figure out what this Cover boy had gotten her. The woman then removed the beautiful bow and set it aside. She then ripped the wrapping paper off to find she received yet another Yankee Candle.
Momma Maria saw this one was labeled with a different aroma from the one Robert had given her. She popped off the glass top and smelled the candle scent. She loved it. She loved burning candles at home when she could and now she had two wonderful Yankee candles to enjoy. Momma called over Charles and gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.
After letting Charles and Momma have their moment, Mr. Ken then pulled out another gift. It was quite large and somewhat heavy, so he slid it over to Mr. Wayne, who was to receive the next gift.
“Wayne, the boys got together and chipped in their money to buy you this wonderful present. I … I think you will like it very much. It was Matthew who talked the manager into letting them have it for a steal,” laughed the Estate Master’s employer.
Mr. Wayne took the large box and picked it up. He tried to shake it as Momma Maria had done to two of hers, but he realized it was too bulky and a bit heavy to even try that. So, he carefully removed the very nice bow before he ripped into the wrappings. The boys cheered him on.
The man immediately saw on the outside of the box that it was a three-piece luggage set. He pulled it out of the box to see the color and what the three individual pieces looked like. He saw the color was a dark burgundy and he loved it. The two smaller pieces were inside the larger piece of luggage and he showed all three to everyone there.
“Boys, this … this is what I truly needed. I don’t have luggage this wonderful and … and I was going to feel a bit embarrassed about what I had to use for our trip on Saturday. Thank you. I … I don’t know how you knew that is what I wished for Santa to bring me, but all I can say is … Thank You!” declared Mr. Wayne, the boys' Estate Master.
Mr. Wayne then got up and hugged each and every boy.
“Well, now, there are two more gifts to pass out. This one is from Kyle and it is for Momma Maria,” stated Mr. Ken.
The man passed the gift over to the woman. Momma did what she’d done to two other gifts. She shook the box to see if it rattled. This one had. She shook it some more hoping she could determine what it could be.
“Come on and hurry it up and rip the paper off of it,” said an anxious Kyle.
Momma complied and after carefully taking the bow off, she ripped the paper off the box. There were no markings on the plain box, so she had to open it to see what was inside. When she looked into the box, the woman took a deep breath. Momma then pulled the item out.
“Kyle … thises is wonderfuls. Its looks likes Robert’s keyschains, buts … buts its couldn’t bees, coulds it? Roberts … dos yous haves yours keyschains yours dads he gives yous whens he adopteds yous?” asked a very curious Momma Maria.
Robert pulled out his keychain and showed everyone he still had it. Momma looked at it and compared it to the brooch Kyle had given her and she began to cry.
“Thisis … thisis is thes mosts awesomes gifts Iss coulds receives, Kyles. Thanka yous for thinkings of mees ands givings mees somethings thats … wells, always reminds mees of thesis homes. Comes overs heres and lets Momma gives yous a bigs hugs,” said Momma Maria.
After Kyle received his hug and a kiss on his cheek, Mr. Ken announced there was one last gift. The owner of The Cove pulled it out and presented it to Momma Maria.
“Momma … Matthew thought up this gift all by himself. He even thought about what … ahh, well you’ll see very soon,” finished a smiling ‘dad’ Ken.
Momma did with this gift as she had with a few others. She shook the box, took the bow off then ripped the wrapping paper off the box. She then had a package the size of a shirt box in her hands. Momma slowly took the top portion of the shirt box off only to find tissue paper hiding her present.
Momma moved the tissue paper to the side and looked inside. What she saw was the words in white lettering, ‘I’m a Cover, too!’ embroidered on the front. The woman pulled the item completely out of the box to behold a green apron. She stood up and put it on. She smiled at its meaning. Then Matthew told her to look inside some more.
Momma did look inside the box only to find there was a navy blue apron with the same words, ‘I’m a Cover, too!’ embroidered on it. Momma looked at it and tears came to her eyes. She searched out Matthew and went over to the youngest Cover and hugged him tight.
“Mattshew, theses ises a wonderfuls gifts. Iss loves them. Momma wills bes veries prouds to wears thesis. Iss bees the bestes dresses woman fors sures,” said the woman, who cooks all their meals for the Covers.
“Iss loves theses, Mattshews. I’ves beens lookings fors somthings tos wears ands thesis … theses ares perfectos,” said a teary eyes Momma Maria.
The Cover boys had great big smiles on their faces. They were proud the gifts they chose for Momma, Mr. Chris and Mr. Wayne that had meaning to them and would be useful in the end.
Before the Covers broke up their employee Christmas party and gift-giving, Mr. Ken pulled out three envelopes. He made a quick speech and then passed out the envelopes to his three employees and wished them all a Merry Christmas. Hugs were shared all around and then they decided to go up to the Kitchen Nook and help finish off the sheet cakes Momma had bought for the sleepover.
After they ate some cake and talked about the gifts just given, Mr. Ken told Momma and Mr. Chris to head on home. He told Momma he would take the boys out to dinner and then come home and wait for Santa. Everyone had a good laugh and more hugs were shared before the two adults departed The Cove for their Christmas Holiday. They wouldn’t return until Wednesday.
Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne, who was staying overnight in order to help bring down the huge number of presents Mr. Ken had gotten his boys, went to the Study to talk about the pending trip starting very early Saturday morning.
The Cover boys went outside to the ramps where they talked about the gifts they had gotten Momma, Mr. Chris and Mr. Wayne. The boys were happy with their choices of gifts and they were especially happy that the people they gave them to were really happy with them.
About 5 p.m., Mr. Ken called the boys inside so they could get cleaned up to go out to dinner. He told them Four Corners was closing at seven and he wanted to be over there before there is a last minutes rush to eat. It was 5:30 before the six Covers headed off to Dinner.
Ed Henry greeted Mr. Ken, the owner, and his boys and Mr. Wayne, with a very loud Santa voice saying, “Merry Christmas”. The restaurant manager knew the owner was coming, so he already had their table set up and their server standing by ready to take their order.
The boys immediately ordered their sodas and Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne got coffee. The boys looked through the menu to see if there was anything different on it, but there wasn’t. They complained to their ‘dad’ that he needed to change the menu. All ‘dad’ Ken would say was it was Mr. Henry’s job to do that and if they had a complaint they should talk to the manager.
When their server brought their drinks, Matthew decided to ask to see the manager. The server was surprised that a young person would ask to see Mr. Henry, but knew who Mr. Ken was, so she went over to the manager and told him what was up.
“Mr. Ken, I understand you wanted to see me?” said Mr. Henry.
“Oh, no, not me … them,” said the restaurant’s owner, as he pointed out to his ‘boys
“Boys, what can I help you with?” asked the manager.
The boys looked back and forth to one another to see who would speak up. Matthew seeing the hesitation after they complained to their ‘dad’, decided to. The young Cover told the man he was the newest Cover and hadn’t eaten there yet, but his ‘brother’s had eaten there a number of times and were complaining that the menu hadn’t changed in a long time. He told the manager that the scaredy-cats can complain to their ‘dad’, but won’t say the same thing to you.
Ed Henry inwardly laughed after hearing what the younger Cover had to say. He told them he wanted the boys’ feedback, but it was a very busy day and he needed to attend to the business and make sure his guests were being taken care of. He told the boys he would have their server give them some feedback forms. He asked them to fill them out and drop them off the next time they were there. The boys nodded their heads in agreement.
Mr. Ken and the Estate Master inwardly laughed at the antics of the boys and being challenged to their complaints. Mr. Ken didn’t say anything and when their server came back to take their food orders she had the Feedback forms for all of the boys. Then everyone ordered their dinner.
After the Covers had eaten, Mr. Ken drove over to their favorite ice cream store. It was still open, so the boys each got their favorite sundae or banana split. Before they left, Mr. Ken gave money to Kyle to get Chief her cup of vanilla ice cream.
Kyle cringed and tried to argue it was Matthew’s job to take care of Chief. Mr. Ken just told him with a smile that it was his turn. Everyone knew what that meant, and the boys just laughed at their ‘brother’.
As the Covers returned home, Chief met them in the Kitchen Nook. She went to Matthew to see if he had her treat, but after searching all around him she didn’t see the familiar cup. The resident pet looked around at who had their hands behind their backs. She spied Kyle and barked once. Kyle immediately pulled the cup of ice cream from behind his back and placed it on the floor and stepped back.
“I guess she caught you,” laughed Kevin, who was joined in by his other ‘brothers’.
It was close to 7:30 when the Covers returned home and after they watched Chief devour her cold treat. Mr. Ken asked the boys to get their gag gifts and meet him down at the Christmas tree. Ten minutes later the Cover boys had brought down their wrapped gifts and placed them in front of their ‘dad’, who would act as Santa.
Mr. Ken randomly chose a gift and called out the name, “Kyle.”
Kyle accepted the gift from his ‘dad’ then carefully opened it. The boys told him to hurry it up or they’d do it for him. Kyle did as requested. When Kyle opened the gift he found Poo-Pourri Before-You-Go Toilet Spray. Everyone laughed at the meaning.
“Hey … my poop doesn’t stink … much,” advised Kyle, but that brought out more laughs.
“OK, who gets the next gag gift? Let me see … Charles,” called out the teen’s dad.
Charles took the gift and hoped he wouldn’t get the Poo-Pourri. The teen ripped the wrappings off the box and found he received a Toilet Night Light Gadget to put under the toilet seat, so he or his ‘brothers’ didn’t need to turn the light on in the toilet stall. Charles figured he dodged a bullet.
Matthew’s name was called next. He ripped the wrapping right off the large box, not wanting his ‘brothers’ to threaten to help him. What he found was a small bell for his new bike. He smiled at the simple gift, and was relieved he didn’t get a gift like Kyle or Charles had.
Mr. Ken next decided to let Mr. Wayne have a gift. He passed it onto his Estate Master reminding him he hadn’t told anyone who the gift was from. Mr. Wayne graciously took the offered gift, shook it, listened to it, and then decided he’d better rip the wrappings right off.
When Mr. Wayne looked into the box he found a whistle, a red and yellow flag, a small notebook and sunglasses. The young man looked perplexed at the items. That was until Robert spilled the beans and told the Estate Master that the whistle was from him to get their attention, the flags were for him to use to tell them how bad an infraction they did and the small notebook was so he could write it all down to remember what to tell their ‘dad’ later. The teen finished by telling Mr. Wayne the sunglasses were for him to look cool.
The boys all laughed at Robert’s description and they were joined in by their ‘dad’. Mr. Wayne thought about the gift, and since it was a gag gift he saw the fun in it, and laughed right along. He even blew his whistle and threw a red flag at Robert. That brought out more laughter.
Mr. Ken was glad he thought of doing this gag gift exchange, as it was proving to be fun for everyone.
“The next name is … drum roll, please … Robert. Here my son. I hope you like it because … well, I have no earthly idea what it is or who it is from,” announced the teen’s dad.
Robert took the gift. He shook it as Mr. Wayne did. He put it to his ear to see if it was ticking. Then his ‘brothers’ told him to stop stalling and open it already. Robert ripped off the wrapping paper to find a blank box. He recognized the box as those his dad used to help them wrap their gag gifts.
Robert then opened the flap of the box and looked inside. He could see the gift was wrapped in a sealed plastic cocoon so he had to pull the entire thing out all at once. When he did he saw it was Pop it Pal – The Official Pimple Popping Toy. The other boys saw it too, and laughed telling him welcome to puberty. Even the two adults laughed at the inference.
Kevin hadn’t been given a gift yet and he was anxious at what his gift could possibly be. ‘Dad’ Ken called Kevin’s name and passed him a small wrapped gift. Kevin began ripping off the wrapping paper and found a nondescript box, as Robert found.
Kevin opened the box only to find another wrapped box. He pulled it out and all the boys laughed that he now had to unwrap another gift. Kevin got mad and just ripped the wrapping paper off the second gift. When the boys saw what the gift was they burst out laughing.
“Hey … why would you get me a book of jokes?” loudly asked Kevin. Then a few seconds later, the older twin said, “Oh, I get it. That’s so I can joke around with ‘dad’, too,” now laughed Kevin. Everyone joined in the laughter with the twin.
Mr. Ken picked up another package and wondered whom it was for. He checked all over it and finally saw small printing that said it was for him. He had no idea who got him a gag gift and since all of the other Covers got one he had to play along.
“I have no idea who bought me a gag gift, so I thank you in advance. That’s because I might kill you in the end,” smiled ‘dad’ Ken.
The Cove’s owner ripped the paper off the box only to find he had a small kid’s construction set inside. There was a road grader, a front loader and a truck. Everything he’d need to construct his apartments. The boys laughed at the gag gift and even ‘dad’ Ken joined in the laughter. He told the person whoever got it for him that they did very well and it was appropriate.
Mr. Ken passed out a few more gag gifts. Charles also received a bottle of Poo-Pourri Before-You-Go Toilet Spray. He then farted and all the boys started gagging. Everyone laughed. Even Chief barked some in agreement.
Robert received the Toilet Night Light Gadget, presumably for the other toilet stall. Matthew received a Magic 8 Ball, Kevin got another joke book, and Kyle got a box of Rainbow Monkey Bandages for when he falls off his bike again. The boys laughed over that gift.
Before Mr. Ken could hand out the next gag gifts, the doorbell rang, and then the Foyer Door opened. Mr. Dan walked in and yelled, “Merry Christmas.” Chief went barking up the stairs to greet the man.
“Dan, you’re just in time for the end of the gag gift exchange. Take a seat, but you missed some really good gag gifts. Some of the boys received Poo-Pourri Before-You-Go Toilet Spray. Two received a Toilet Night Light Gadget for their toilet stalls. Matthew got a bell for his new bike; Kyle got bandages for when he falls off his bike again, and as for Kevin … he got two joke books, so he can learn to make quips with me.
“I was going to pass out the last of the gag gifts but … I know there is one here with your name on it. So, stay seated and remember, Dan … these are gag gifts and there’s no shooting, no pun intended, the messenger,” laughed Mr. Ken.
The owner of The Cove passed Dan’s gag gift to him, and as he looked it over the boys were watching and smiling, as they knew what was in the box. Dan took his time unwrapping the package and the boys got anxious and told him to hurry up.
Dan Fischer did what the others had done and he ripped the wrapping right off the box and added the wrappings to the pile of paper on the floor. Since the box was a nondescript one the Sheriff’s Lieutenant had no idea what was inside. The man lifted up one end flap and saw what was inside. Then he laughed.
“You shouldn’t have. I was looking to buy myself some new ones. Thank you all for the new plastic handcuffs, a whistle, a new badge, a gun and holster, sunglasses and crime scene bandages to put on the bad guys after I arrest them,” as how Mr. Dan describer his gag gift.
“And, boys … speaking of arresting bad guys … we did it again tonight. Matthew … your dream … it helped us tremendously and we arrested all four men as they stopped the guard as he left his last stop for the night. They tried to get the guard to give up his key to the back of the truck, but as soon as they rushed the guard we were ready.
“We had two of our men inside the armored truck, and they jumped out as we came out of the building and prepositioned vehicles. Overall we had twenty men there, and they didn’t have a chance. And the best thing was … no shots were fired.
Matthew your final dream coincided with what we determined after talking to the armored truck company. Young man, we owe you a debt of gratitude for pointing us in the right direction. And boy, you should have heard Lincoln, well, maybe you shouldn’t have. The language he used was not appropriate for young ears,” explained a smiling Dan Fischer, Sheriff’s Lieutenant.
“Mr. Dan does that mean I can call my friends and, and tell them what you just told us?” asked Matthew.
Mr. Dan told him he could, so Matthew asked Robert if he could use his phone, since all of his friend’s phone numbers were in it except Max’s. Robert handed over his phone and the young Cover called Brant and told him to call Ryan. Matthew then called Noah and asked him to call Greg. The Cover then called Aaron.
Then Matthew asked his ‘dad’ if he could call Max for him. The two went up to the Study, so Matthew could call his newest friend. When the young Cover talked to Max, he was so exuberant and animated as he told Max his story. Matthew told his newest friend he’d see him next Wednesday.
“Boys, we have one last gift to open. They aren’t gag gifts, but a gift that you will need. Take one and pass the rest on. When you all have one I’ll let you open them,” explained ‘dad’ Ken.
On the count of three, the boys, and Mr. Wayne, opened their last gift of the night. Kyle was the first to get to his gift. He saw they were luggage tags and he thanked his ‘dad’ for them as he knew he needed them for their trip. All the other boys finally opened their gift and thanked their ‘dad’, too.
“Boys, it is getting late and Santa will soon be here. What say we try to finish up the sheet cake and then head off to bed? Dan, you will join us won’t you?” said Mr. Ken.
‘Dad’ Ken sent his ‘boys’ up to bed about 10:30. He warned them not to come down the stairs, even if the place was on fire. The boys laughed and told him if the house were on fire they’d open the window and climb down their escape ladders. More laughs were had.
The boys had to run to avoid their ‘dad’ from grabbing them and tickling them for teasing him back. The boys all said Goodnight to the three adults and headed off to bed. It was then ‘dad’ Ken told the boys “Do not come downstairs before 8 a.m. Santa needs all the time he can get to deliver presents to five boys at the same time.”
It took the three adults, using the wheeled carts from the garage, a half hour to get all the gifts from the guest bedroom down to the Great Room and set out in five piles. Dan, looking over the five large piles of Christmas presents, told his friend Ken that he may have overdone it, and then laughed.
Mr. Ken invited Dan back tomorrow morning to watch the boys open their Christmas presents and then go out to a late lunch with them. Unfortunately, Dan told him as a single person he had to work and his shift started at 6 a.m., so the family men could be home to play Santa and watch their kids open their Christmas presents.
The three men wished each other a Merry Christmas and then Dan Fischer left the estate. Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne agreed to meet at 7:45 AM for coffee and wait for the boys to arrive. The two men then headed to their own bedrooms.
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