When it was close to four in the afternoon, Mr. Ken, Robert, and Charles all headed up to the Main Gate to wait for the boys' friends who were going along on the evening's cruise around the lake. The parents began arriving close to four and as they dropped off their son other parents began dropping off their kid. Some of the parents decided they wanted to talk to Mr. Ken to clarify what the plan was for the evening's trip on the lake and what time they should expect their son to be back so they could pick him up later that evening.
Mr. Ken told the parents he hoped to be back by 9 PM but it wouldn't surprise him if it was closer to 9:30 when they got back. The parents thanked the man for doing so many nice things for their boy and told him they hoped they could return the favor for his boys sometime.
By 10 minutes past the scheduled arrival time, all the boys had arrived and Robert and Charles led them all down to the skateboard ramps where they began to practice their skateboard tricks. Mr. Ken went back inside to his Study and called the Commodore's Club located at the lake's yacht club. He needed to know what time the outside snack windows closed so he could plan his trip around the lake with the boys and yet still get the boys something to eat later in the evening. He was happy to know that Sunday night the snack windows stayed open until 9 PM which gave him ample time to get there and feed the boys.
While the boys were outside doing their skateboard tricks, Charles and Robert talked about the evening's trip around the lake. They thought about their special tour a couple weeks ago at the lake safety and rescue headquarters and they wondered if Mama Maria had any spare sweet cakes that she made that they could possibly drop off to the guys to thank them for their tour. With that in mind, Charles went inside to talk to Momma Maria and then realized she was off on Sunday's.
Charles went to the Study to ask his 'dad' to call Momma Maria and ask her if she had any extra sweet treats he and Robert could give to the men who gave them that special tour a few weeks ago. Instead of him calling Momma Maria he dialed the phone to reach her but he made Charles talk to the woman.
"Momma Maria," said Charles, "can I ask you a question, please?" asked the preteen.
"Yes, Charles, ask away," said Momma Maria.
"Momma Maria … you remember a few weeks back, you know, when our 'dad' took us, and our friends, out on a cruise and we stopped by the Lake Water Safety and Rescue Team Headquarters? … Well, we really never got to properly thank them for giving us that special tour on such a short notice, so … well, Robert and I were wondering … well, if you had any extra sweet cakes that we could stop by there later with, while we were on our lake cruise tonight, so we could maybe give to the men as a thank you for giving us that tour?" said Charles.
"Why yes, Charles, I'm surprised you and your friends haven't been eating all the sweet cakes that I've made for you all, so, yes, I have extra that I can give you and by the time you arrive at the headquarters they will be thawed and ready to eat. Will that work for you Charles?" asked Momma Maria.
"Yes, Momma Maria, that would be perfect!" said Charles.
Momma Maria then told the preteen where to find them and then told him to ask his dad to find a nice tin or basket she had in the Butler's Pantry.
Charles went outside and told Robert what Momma Maria said and that put a big smile on his 'brother's' face. The two Covers were happy that they were going to be able to thank the men who gave them that tour a few weeks back. After sharing that bit of news, Robert went back to skating with his friends and Charles, because he still wasn't allowed to swim or use his skateboard, just stood back and watched all of their friends having fun.
It was just past 5:30 when Mr. Ken came out to the skateboard ramps and asked the boys if they were about ready to go on their evening cruise. The boys hadn't realized that they had been out on the ramps for the past hour and a half without ever thinking about going for a swim even though they all had brought their swim trunks. Mr. Ken suggested that they store their boards in the garage and then go inside and get cleaned up, drain their lizards (The man said with a smile making all the boys laugh.) and meet him down at the dock in about 20 minutes.
Twenty minutes later, when the boys met Mr. Ken down at the dock, they were all surprised to see Todd there, too. Charles and Robert were curious as to why Todd was there and when they asked him he told them that Mr. Ken had asked him to help with the boat and go along as an extra chaperone. The boys knew that Todd was only 15, soon to be 16, and so they chuckled at the chaperone title but, they were glad that Todd was going along with them that evening.
Mr. Ken checked to make sure that all the boys were ready to go and that they had all taken care of their pet lizards (which made them all laugh) and when they all agreed they had he had them all load onto the Commander. The owner of The Cove started up the large yacht, had Todd cast off the lines, and before the teenager could get inside the boat to pull in the boat bumpers, Robert and Eric had already taken care of them. The teen thanked them and then headed up to the flying bridge to join Mr. Ken at the controls.
Mr. Ken started out slow and was beginning to make a turn to the right when Charles and Robert reminded him to go left and head over to the safety and rescue headquarters. The man just smiled and then remembered the conversation Charles and Momma Maria had earlier. He knew it didn't matter to him because either way they were going to be doing a full circle of the lake. He was doing it that way so the boys could see the shoreline and see what surrounded the lake on the edges of the lake.
Mr. Ken and Todd talked while the man steered the commander and he learned that Ryan had been giving Todd instruction and driving directions on how to handle the large craft. After talking with Todd and realizing that the teen was very familiar with the craft, he felt confident in letting the teenager take over the controls. Mr. Ken stood back and watched Todd steer the cabin cruiser and was very happy seeing the lad was doing a really good job. He told Todd to pick up his speed and head towards the Lake Water Safety and Rescue Team Headquarters and that he would be right back. With that said, Mr. Ken went down the talk to his boys.
"Hey Robert, Charles, can I ask why the sudden need to go over to the safety and rescue headquarters?" asked Mr. Ken.
Charles looked at Robert and Robert nodded for his 'brother' to answer the question. So, Charles looked at his 'dad' and said, "'Dad', we never got a chance to really thank those men at the rescue headquarters so that was why I asked Momma Maria if she had any extra sweet cakes. You were there when I talked to her earlier. That's what is in that big tray you got down for me. She said she was surprised we hadn't been eating all the things she has made for us, so she was happy we were giving some to those men. We thought this was a good way we could thank them for giving us that tour on such a short notice."
Mr. Ken was amazed at how his boys were so unselfish for thinking about a personal way to thank the men for giving them that special tour just a few weeks ago. The man and his boys talked about which sweet cakes Momma Maria had given the boys to take over to the men and when he heard the list he wished he now had a few right there because it made his mouth water.
As Todd was steering the commander towards the safety and rescue headquarters, Mr. Ken started to point out some of the things indicative to that part of the lake. A few of the boys had been with him on that craft before and so they were already familiar with what was there. The thing they liked was that Mr. Ken was trying to make them aware of where they were and what they were seeing.
As they got close to the headquarters, Mr. Ken went back up to the flying bridge and using his marine radio he called to the headquarters and asked them if they could stop by for a few minutes. Mr. Jones, aka Jonesy, was manning the information desk, which meant he had access to all of the communications devices, and so it was he who told them to come on by.
When they got to the headquarters, Mr. Ken told Todd to go ahead and back into the slip. Todd's eyes went open wide when he heard the man tell him to back that large craft up into the docking area. He had to ask if Mr. Ken was sure. Mr. Ken assured him he would be staying there right next to him and he told the boy the only way that he could learn was by doing. Mr. Ken reminded Todd not to overreact and just back the Commander up like he was driving a car.
As Todd was backing up the craft, he called down to Robert and Eric and asked them to set out the bumpers and be prepared to tie up the commander when he stopped. Robert and Eric smiled at being asked to help and they quickly set out the bumpers and each of them got on either side of the stern and were ready to jump on the dock and tie off the yacht at both bow and stern.
Once the Commander was docked and tied up, Robert and Charles quickly got out the sweet cakes and they, along with Mr. Ken walked up to the main lobby area of the Lake Safety and Rescue Team Headquarters, followed by their friends. Upon entering the headquarters building Robert and Charles were happy to see that Mr. Jones was at the information desk. They went over to the man and personally thanked him again for the tour he had given them a few weeks back and then asked if Mr. Lamake and Mr. Arnolds were available. Jonesy got on the buildings PA system and asked for George and Marcus to join him at the information desk. Upon walking into the front lobby area of the building George and Marcus put a big smile on their face when they saw who was there waiting for them.
It was Charles who spoke up and said, "Mr. Jones, Mr. Arnolds, Mr. Lamake, Robert and I wanted to thank you for giving us that special tour a couple weeks back on such a short notice. We asked our Momma Maria if she could spare some of her sweet cakes and she has. Here, these are for you three to have and to share with anyone you wish. Our 'dad' has us and our friends out for a cruise around the lake but we wanted to stop by and again say thank you for what you did for us. We all know you're going to enjoy these sweet cakes and we hope to see you again soon."
With that said, the three men hugged Robert and Charles and thanked them for the generous and special gift of the sweet cakes from their home. The other boys, who had been on that special tour, also went over and personally thanked the men once again and shook their hands and as the lads had done. After that, they all walked out and loaded back onto the commander.
Mr. Ken told Todd to take the Commander out onto the lake. With that said, Todd called back to Robert and Eric and asked them to cast off and bring in the bumpers once they cleared the dock. Once they were about 10 yards away from the dock Mr. Ken told Todd to pick up the speed and to head around toward the yacht club.
The boys were really enjoying this part of the cruise because many of them had never been on this part of the lake before. They were seeing a lot of new scenery and seeing how other homes had been built along the lake shore. They also saw how each of the owners had provided for their own boats along the shore.
Todd was feeling ecstatic standing up there on the flying bridge controlling such a large ship that the Commander was. He couldn't believe that Mr. Ken, his boss, had allowed him to take control without the man constantly watching over his shoulder. That trust gave Todd more confidence in his ability to handle responsibility and he came to understand what Mr. Ken meant to both Collin and Ryan.
It was now close to 7:30 in the evening and they could see the yacht club not too far away in the distance. By then, Mr. Ken had come up on the flying bridge so the man picked up the marine radio microphone and called to the club to ask for permission to dock and stop by the snack windows. Mr. Ken was warmly greeted over the marine radio and was told which slip to pull his yacht into and then to make their way up to the snack bar windows as the cook and wait staff were waiting for them.
About 10 minutes later, this time Mr. Ken backed the commander into the slip and Todd along with Robert and Eric set out the bumpers and were ready at the stern to tie the Commander up when the all stop was given. When the Commander was totally tied off at the bow and stern, Mr. Ken told the lads to safely disembark the ship and head up the slight hill towards the Commodore's Club outside snack windows and to wait for him.
When Mr. Ken arrived at the snack windows, he told the boys to order a hamburger, fries and a drink and to enjoy the surroundings of the yacht club. By this time the boys were becoming quite hungry, so it didn't take them long to line up to order their burgers and fries and sodas. Since all of the passengers on the Commander all ordered the same thing that made it so much easier for the cooks to prepare that many hamburgers and portions of fries. While the boys were waiting for their meals to be cooked the order taker had given each of the boys a cup and told them to go in and help themselves at the self-serve soda bar.
Mr. Ken made sure he was the last person in line and when it came to time to order his meal he passed over his black American Express Credit Card and told the order taker to put the entire bill on that credit card. The order taker had never seen a black American Express Credit Card, so she told Mr. Ken she would return and headed off. A few moments later the Commodore, Jeffery Wilson, himself came outside and greeted Mr. Ken.
"Mr. Ken, what a surprise to have you here at the yacht club. I heard you call in asking for permission to dock, and I was glad that you had done that. It's not often that we get visitors who don't understand that they should call and ask for permission first, because many of the slips here at the yacht club are rented out to our club members and they do not like coming back off the lake to find their slip filled with a nonmember just stopping by.
"I understand you handed the lady a black American Express credit card. I'm sorry to say that she'd never seen one before and didn't really know how to run it through the system. I just explained to her to run it through like any other credit card and not to worry about it." The Commodore and Mr. Ken then had a big laugh about that.
"Mr. Ken, I see you brought a large gaggle of young lads with you tonight. I know you are too young for all of them to be your sons, so obviously you are treating some of them to a special night out on the lake," offered the Commodore.
"You see Commodore, only two of the lads are my boys. I told them that I would take them and their friends out for special cruise tonight around the lake. We stopped at the safety and rescue headquarters, first, to drop off some sweet cakes for the men and then we continued around this side of the lake towards the yacht club," explained Mr. Ken.
"I didn't know you had two sons," said the Commodore. "Are they still on the cruiser?"
"Oh, no. My boys, well, they are my foster sons. Boys," Mr. Ken called out. "Charles and Robert, would you come over here please?" asked Mr. Ken.
"Boys, I want you to meet the Lake's Commodore, Jeffrey Wilson. The Commodore is basically the unofficial commanding officer of the boats on the lake. Commodore, I want you to meet Robert he came to live with me back in January and Charles, who came to live with me just before the Fourth of July," said Mr. Ken.
"Oh, yes, I knew you had taken the foster care training course just after that huge storm a few years back, but I didn't realize that you had been taking in foster children. I knew you were Collin's guardian but I didn't realize that you were going to help out other children," said the Commodore.
"Yes, Commodore Wilson, I actually was Collin's foster dad but we were more like older brother and younger brother when he lived there. He had brought life to The Cove and when he was abruptly taken away from me, The Cove felt empty. But, ever since Robert and Charles have come to live with me and Chief they and their friends have livened up The Cove tremendously," offered Mr. Ken.
"Well done, Mr. Ken, and thank you for bringing the boys by this evening and oh, by the way, did you know that every summer we host sailing competitions? Each year we have three classes of races. We have the junior division which are 10 to 12-year-olds, then we have the young teen division comprising teens from 13 to 15, and then the senior teens division which are ages 16 through 18. We always offer trophies and prizes to the first three winners in their own class and I was wondering if you had ever thought about joining the yacht club. Now that you have two young sons, they might be interested in joining in our races," said Commodore Wilson.
"Well, Commodore, from watching my 'boy's' sail my little 14 foot Sunfish day sailboat, I don't think that they are going to be wanting to race," laughed Mr. Ken. "But you never know, maybe later this summer I can take them each out and get them more comfortable with riding and sailing that little boat and, who knows, maybe next year we might join and they may enter into their race classes. Commodore, I see the boys are just about finished with their meals and we have yet to go all the way back to The Cove, so if you would excuse me, sir, I'll take your leave and we will talk soon," offered Mr. Ken.
Mr. Ken hadn't had a chance to eat his burger and fries so he asked the wait staff to wrap them up for him and in the meantime he asked the lads to clean up after themselves, use the little boy's room and head back towards the Commander. Mr. Ken then signed the credit card bill and provided the cooks and the wait staff with a generous tip. The man then headed down to the Commander and, when he got on, he told Todd to start it up and had Robert and Eric cast off the yacht and pull in the bumpers after Todd had pulled out of the slip.
As they continued to head back towards The Cove, the boys were beginning to enjoy their cruise, as Mr. Ken ate his barely warm burger. The majority of lads had never been to this part of the lake nor had he ever stopped by the yacht club or had they ever eaten there, so there were three new experiences for them that night. As they continued along, Mr. Ken continued to point out the different things along the shoreline and he explained why there were homes in some areas and why there weren't in others. Mr. Ken had also intended to take them by the area where he was building his new hotel and office building, but it was getting dark and he wasn't sure if they had gotten to that part of the lake would they be able to see anything.
As Todd was steering the Commander back towards The Cove, he noticed up ahead a small sailboat that was having difficulty in tacking itself back towards the yacht club. The teenager called Mr. Ken up to the flying bridge and pointed out the small sailboat to the man. He explained to him what he saw and Mr. Ken told Todd to steer clear of the sailboat and give them a wide berth just in case the wind catches them and they head off in their direction.
As Mr. Ken and Todd were focused out on the small sailboat, they could see the wind had picked up due to the ripples along the surface of the water. It was then the wind suddenly hit the small sailboat at the wrong angle. The boys didn't see the wind shift because it was getting dark and it being so late in the evening. It was because of those conditions the lads were not ready for the wind to shift and were not properly balanced which allowed the sailboat to capsize. Mr. Ken immediately told Todd to steer in their direction, but to be careful not to get too close. While the teenager did that, Mr. Ken got on the Marine radio and called to the Lake Water Safety and Rescue Team Headquarters and explained to them what he saw.
Upon approaching the capsized sailboat, Mr. Ken could see two boys in the water and neither of them had on their lifejackets. He called down to Logan and Robert and told them to get out the life rings and life vests and be ready to throw them to the two lads. While all this was going on Jonesy was still at the communications desk and he was the one who took Mr. Ken's emergency call.
Mr. Ken explained to Mr. Jones what had happened and what his intentions were in helping the boys. He then asked if there were was anyone there who could bring out the safety boats since it was getting dark. Mr. Jones said there were people there and he would dispatch two of the safety and rescue boats to him where they're located on the lake.
As Todd brought the commander close to the stricken sailboat, Logan and Robert were each able to throw out a life ring to the boys who were in the water. The lads were able to grab them and be pulled towards the Commander. Mr. Ken called out to the boys and asked if they were okay. It was then he learned that there was a third lad and they said they didn't know where Walt, the lad's name, was. Hearing that Mr. Ken got down to the lowest deck and yelled out to the boys where did they see him last. It was then Robert spoke up and said, "'Dad', it looks like he's caught under the sail. It looks like he's trying to lift the sale above his head so he can breathe."
Mr. Ken saw what his 'son' saw, so he quickly tore off his shirt, shoes and socks. He gave Robert his wallet and cell phone and dove in towards the panicking boy. While Mr. Ken was swimming over to the sailboat to try to get the child from underneath the sail, Todd yelled down to Logan to get out some line and try to rope the top of the mast to keep it from pulling under and injuring the boy. Todd further told him once he did that to then tie the end of the mast off at one of the cleats to help keep it afloat. All the while this was going on, Mr. Ken had gotten to the sail and was trying to lift it up to try to get to the lad and pull him from under it. In the background, everyone could hear the sirens of the rescue boats headed in their direction.
The two boys who were being pulled to the stern of the Commander kept calling out they didn't know where Walt was. Logan called to Todd to kill the engines so they could bring the boys on board the cruiser.
The rescue boats were quickly approaching the incident area and Mr. Ken was still trying to get to the lad who is stuck under the sail. It was only a few moments later when Charles yelled out that his 'dad' had gotten the boy out from under the sail, but it looked like the lad wasn't breathing. Charles then saw his 'dad' had begun to give the boy some breaths and he yelled to Todd that his dad was doing CPR and they needed to get some flotation out to him and the stricken boy.
Logan heard what Charles said and quickly took off his shirt, socks and shoes. He gave his phone and wallet to Charles, took one of the life ring preservers and a life vest and dove in and swam over to Mr. Ken. The man thanked Logan for coming out with the two devices. Quickly they put the life ring underneath the boy's back in order to keep his head and chest above the water.
Mr. Ken then continued performing CPR while Logan took the life vest and put it under the lad's legs to raise them in the water. By then the rescue boats were on the scene and two of the rescue divers dove in to assist Mr. Ken. In the meantime, men on the other rescue boat got out the floating Stokes and positioned their boat as close as they dare without entangling them and the sailboat. Before long, Walt was slipped into the floating Stokes basket and was lifted onto the rescue boat where full CPR was performed. The rescue boat immediately headed off to a waiting ambulance.
The two boys who were in the sailboat and had been plucked out of the water and onto the Commander were taken over to the secondary rescue boat to be warmed up and their parents to be notified. That rescue boat then headed off behind the first one and were headed towards the dock and waiting ambulance.
Mr. Ken got back on the commander dripping wet and by then he helped Logan back on the yacht as well. Robert had found some towels in the lower cabin and brought them out for his dad and Logan. As the two were drying themselves off, and trying to get warm, the boys began to applaud the heroics of the man and the teenager.
While the rescue was going on, many other boats had seen that something was wrong and they all headed in that direction. Before long there was almost a dozen other boats watching the rescue. Then they heard the lads clapping and they began to clap as well.
"Boys, thank you for your help this evening. You all did a wonderful job. I thank you." It was then that Robert and Charles went up to their 'dad' and hugged him tight. After he released his 'dad', Robert went over to Logan and said to him, "Logan, you did a wonderful thing this evening. I don't know if I could have done what you did, but after seeing what you had done I think I now could maybe do the same."
It was Charles who asked his 'dad' what they were going to do with the sailboat. The pre-teen showed his dad that they had tied the mast off on the cleat and that the boat portion was still above water. The lad asked if there was a way that they could right the boat like he had showed them with the Sunfish. It was getting fairly dark, so Mr. Ken asked Todd to turn on the spotlights and focus them on the stricken sailboat.
Soon, the other nearby boats got into position and they turned on their spotlights as well. One man yelled over and asked what they were trying to do and Mr. Ken told him they were going to try to right the sailboat and tow it back to either the yacht club or to his dock at Three Finger Cove. The man yelled back that he would help them in any way he could and told Mr. Ken to give him some directions and he would help.
Mr. Ken looked at Logan and asked if he was ready get wet again. Logan laughed at Mr. Ken and said, "Yeah, why not." Five seconds later both man and teen dove back into water and got on the far end of the sailboat. The two each grabbed a line and got their weight on the side of the sailboat and then they yelled over to Robert to untie the mast and at the same time try to push it up, as best he could, to give them some help. Mr. Ken and Logan tried desperately to right the sailboat up but they didn't have enough weight between them. The man who called out to Mr. Ken asked if he needed some extra weight and Mr. Ken said sure.
Five seconds later, everyone heard a splash and within moments the man, from the other boat, was on their side and ready to help right the sailboat. This time the three would be sailors were able to right the sailboat and get inside. The three lowered the sail and tied it off. They then bailed the water out of the sailboat. They were then able to tie the sailboat off on one of the cleats at the stern of the Commander. Mr. Ken thanked the man for jumping in and helping them and then had Todd to move at idle speed near the man's boat. As soon as the Good Samaritan got back on board his own craft, the two men exchanged names and phone numbers.
Within a few minutes, the Commander was headed back towards The Cove. Mr. Ken had decided to take the sailboat with them and contact the yacht club to find out who its owner was. Mr. Ken and Logan got wrapped back up in the dry towels and sat alongside one another and began to talk about what they had done.
During all that time, the boys had their cell phones out and had taken video of the rescue. But they were not the only ones who had videotaped or had taken pictures of what Mr. Ken and Logan had done for the three boys. Eventually, the lads on the Commander all called their parents to let them know what was going on and that they would definitely be late coming back to The Cove.
Since they were towing the sailboat, Todd took his time going back to The Cove. He had asked some of the boys to watch the sailboat and to tell him if it began to veer off to either side of the Commander. The night got cool on the deck of the Commander, so Mr. Ken and Logan went down inside the lower deck to get away from the chill. The man asked Charles and Robert to stay topside with their friends. He wanted to talk to Logan some more about what the teen had done.
"Logan … have you ever done anything like what you did tonight?" directly asked Mr. Ken.
"No, sir, I never did," replied a chattering Logan.
Mr. Ken pulled the teen to him to help warm him up but the teenage burst into tears when he felt the man hug him. Mr. Ken figured he'd let the teenager cry himself out, guessing that the young teen finally realized what he just helped to do. Logan must have cried for ten minutes before he looked into Mr. Ken's eyes and apologized for crying.
"Logan, you have nothing to apologize for. You immediately jumped in to help not thinking of any consequences. What you did may very well have helped save Walt. At least, I sure hope he will be okay. Logan … we did what we thought was needed to help save someone. I think you were crying because it finally dawned on you what you did. Am I right?" consoled Mr. Ken.
Logan didn't say anything for a few moments, but after thinking on it he said, "Mr. Ken … they taught us in Boy Scouts … what to do in certain circumstance … but I've never had to do anything like this, ever. Yes, after we came down here, I began to think about what happened and what I had done and it was then I realized that I didn't have a life vest on when I jumped in and I could have been a victim, too."
"Logan, but you did have a life vest and you even had a life ring with you. You used both to get the lad's head above the water and it allowed me to perform CPR. Don't you remember?" asked Mr. Ken.
Logan again didn't immediately reply. He thought about what the owner of The Cove had just said to him. It was then he did think back and he remembered he did take those two items in the water with him. That brought a smile on his face and he looked in Mr. Ken's eyes and said, "Thank you, Mr. Ken for talking to me. You were right. I did take those two items into the water with me. I just wonder what mom is going to say when she sees that I am soaking wet."
"Well, you won't be all wet. Your shirt is still dry isn't it?" teased the twenty-something man.
That brought another smile and laugh for the teenager. Mr. Ken then hugged the teen to him again and this time Logan leaned into it. They remained that way until they reached The Cove.
As they approached The Cove, Charles came into the lower deck and told his 'dad' that Todd was afraid to bring the Commander into the slip. That got Mr. Ken's attention and he released Logan from their hug and proceeded up to the flying bridge. It was then he remembered the sailboat being towed behind them. He asked Todd and few of the boys to pull the sailboat close in.
The owner of The Cove then brought the Commander into his slip at idle speed. Once there, he had Robert and Eric set out the bumpers and tie the boat up. He then asked the lads to bring the sailboat alongside and tie it off to the cleats of the Commander being sure to place the bumpers out. Before long, Mr. Ken and Todd got off the yacht and checked the lines. They made sure everything was secure. It was then Mr. Ken told the lads they could go ashore and head off to get their stuff.
It was Brad who asked if they could keep it here for the night. He said they were there most of the time, anyway, and that it would be easier for them tomorrow, that was if they were allowed to come over. Ken Thomas smiled at the teen and asked him what he thought. Brad smiled back and said they probably could come by tomorrow. The man hugged the teen and got him wet and said, "Let that be a lesson to you."
Brad, and a few of the other young teens laughed, and he wanted to know what lesson that was, and all Mr. Ken said was, "not to be hugged by a wet person". That got all the lads to laughing. Mr. Ken then pulled Todd aside and thanked him profusely for being so observant and identifying potential problems. The man also praised the older teen for being able to take command of the Commander and not panicking with the emergency going on all around him.
Mr. Ken then hugged the teen whose eyes began to leak. Ken Thomas hugged the lad tighter and told the teenager to not let what happened tonight interfere with his life. The man told his Beach Master he was proud of him and very happy he worked for him. Todd wiped his eyes and looked back at his boss and thanked him for saying what he had. As Todd began to walk away, his boss told him to be back tomorrow late morning to refuel the Commander. Todd just smiled and waved as he caught up with the rest of the lads who were headed up to the Main Gate to see who came to get them, mom or dad.