When Chris arrived and had a few cups of coffee, Mr. Ken sat down with him and told him he wanted to have the new van available by the Veteran’s Day Holiday. The owner of The Cove explained he really needed it for the Thanksgiving week, but he wanted to put a few miles on it before the long drive to Collin’s home for the Holiday.
Chris said he was already in contact with the dealership and they were checking with other dealers for the model and accessories he wanted. Chris explained that it would take a minimum of 10 weeks to get a specially built van with all his requirements on it. Mr. Ken told Chris that if they couldn’t find one with everything he wanted then he’d rent a van for that Holiday week and have them build him one to be delivered right after the New Year. Chris said he understood and went back to his office to call the dealer and tell him what the score was on the van.
After Chris talked to the car dealership, he called the three local high schools to talk to their construction teachers about the Toy Soldier building project Mr. Ken was interested in sponsoring. Mr. Chris explained Mr. Ken would supply the bulk of the materials so their costs would be mainly in the kid’s labor. The Estate Manager reiterated they would be using the light posts as their support and electrical needs.
All three teachers said their students were interested and looking forward to building their versions of the Toy Soldier. Each teacher said he wanted to stop by tomorrow to get the dimensions and asked if it was okay to bring a few students along so they could get a grasp of the area and site they would be using. Mr. Chris asked them to stop by sometime after 10 AM.
While Chris Dominions was talking to the car dealer and the teachers, Mr. Ken drove over to his lakeside building projects. He wanted to see where they were in the process and answer any questions they may have. He also left a note for himself on his desk for when he returned to call Mary Taylor and talk to her about the colors and furnishings for the hotel.
Over at school, the kids were all talking about the weekends Trick-Or-Treating. Just about all the eleven-year-olds said they were going out and many of the twelve-year-olds indicated they were going out, as well. When it came to the thirteen-year-olds, there was a few being ribbed about dressing up in a costume and going out Trick-Or-Treating. Robert and Eric were two of those lads.
“So what if I’m going out begging for candy,” said Robert. “I have twin eleven-year-old ‘brothers’ who said they never were allowed to go out Trick-Or-Treating and I said I’d chaperone them. Then, I figured if they were dressed up then I should be as well. My Best Friend Eric asked if he could come along and his mom agreed, so he will dress up, too. I’ll bet a bunch more of you are going out, but you are afraid to admit it!”
After what Robert just said it got very quiet in their group. It was Logan who broke the silence and said if he lived closer to his friend he’d want to go out begging for candy with Robert and Eric. Logan said that he’d be home with his mom, handing out the candy as his sisters had dates and were going to a dance.
Hearing that Logan’s sisters were going out to a dance, some of the guys asked if anyone was going to go to the Eighth Grade Christmas Dance. That brought out a bunch of conversations of the benefits of going, what it would cost and how’d they get there. But, the biggest question of them all was, was anyone taking a date.
Robert and Eric looked at one another and they told each other they’d have to talk about that over the weekend. Logan said he’d definitely like to go to the dance and he’ll think about asking a girl. The oldest thirteen- year- old told his friends, his sisters told him that some of the most fun they had in high school was going to the dances and the football and basketball games. The teen told his friends that there was so much going on in high school they’ll have plan things in advance. That gave all the lads something to think about.
At the still under construction hotel, Ken Thomas was happy with the progress being made there. The building was fully closed-in and the electrical, plumbing and security systems were being installed in the three-story hotel. Besides there being the hotel rooms, Mr. Ken planned on a 350-seat Grand Ballroom and kitchen to support it. He also planned the ballroom to be able to be split in half to support two simultaneous venues when needed. The man also included a restaurant with both indoor and outdoor seating. The owner of The Cove also planned for a bar with a small stage for evening bands.
When Mr. Ken visited the eight-story office building, where he also had a 4-bedroom retreat being built for him, he found and all the concrete floors were fully installed and the roof was completely installed, too. His foreman told him they were in the early stages of installing the electrical, plumbing and air handling systems, and had started installing the outside framing for the glass walls and hopefully would have the interior fully out of the elements by the Holidays. Hearing that put a big smile on the entrepreneur.
Mr. Ken didn’t get back to The Cove until almost 3 PM. Mr. Chris was waiting for him to let him know about the van and that the high school teachers and some students will stop by tomorrow after 10 AM. The two men went to the Study to talk where Mr. Chris said they couldn’t find the exact van he wanted and they’d have to order it and all they needed was a deposit and it would be done.
Mr. Ken told his Estate Manager to order the new van and make sure the Navigator was clean and ready to be traded in on the new vehicle. Mr. Ken also told his Estate Manager to ensure the vehicle was assigned to the Three Finger Cove, LLC (Limited Liability Corporation). He also told Mr. Chris to add Wayne Mitchell to the insurance rider for all the LLC vehicles.
The boys got home at their usual time and they went directly to Momma Maria for their after-school snack. When they finished eating they went to the Study to talk to Mr. Ken before going up to get their homework done before they got too busy to do it over the weekend.
Momma Maria had another one of her awesome meals ready for them and the Covers ate very well that night. She even had another surprise, a Mexican desert for them. Rice Fritters with Sesame Caramel. It was a simple dessert made from rice with a caramel sauce flavored with sesame seeds and orange sauce. The Covers loved the new taste.
When they finished eating, they all thanked Momma Maria and then headed to the Study to talk as they usually did. They all got comfortable and then Mr. Ken wanted to talk about how the boys intended to walk the streets Saturday night while they went Trick-Or-Treating.
Robert was a bit perplexed by the question, so Mr. Ken clarified by asking him are they going to start at the top of the estate and work their way up and down that street, or were they going to start at the furthest streets and work their way back. He also asked them if they were going to bring back their full candy holders before heading off to another street.
Robert talked to his ‘brothers’ to see what they thought they should do. They decided they wanted to begin with the street out front and if they got tired by the second street they could come back and get sick from eating all their candy. They then laughed at that thought.
“Oh, OK, I hear you. You want to go begging for candy so you can come back here and get sick, huh? Well, I can get you sick without you going out begging for candy,” smirked Mr. Ken. “I can give you all a few pieces of chocolate Ex-Lax and you’ll wish you didn’t see another piece of chocolate again, ever,” now laughed ‘dad’ Ken.
Kevin and Kyle looked back and forth to one another trying to figure what Ex-Lax was. Robert spoke up and told the twins, and Charles, it was a laxative to clean you out and a few pieces would keep you on the toilet almost all day.
“You wouldn’t do that to us would you ‘Dad Ken’” asked Kevin. “It wouldn’t be fun to sit on the toilet all day.”
“No, I wouldn’t do that to you, ‘son’. But, if you can tease me about getting sick from eating all your candy then I can surely tease you by making you sick without you having to go out and walk up and down the streets,” laughed ‘Dad Ken’.
As they talked, Mr. Ken decided to tell the boys about Gene and George. He told the boys, but was directly focusing his talk towards the twins, that because Julian Hankers was still out there that he wanted to feel they were safe. He explained that the twin security men watched over Collin as well as Robert and Charles and were there only to observe and not interfere with their candy begging. The boys laughed at that.
Mr. Ken told the four boys that Mr. Gene and Mr. George will be stationed one in front of them and the other behind them making sure they are kept safe. He also told them the men would be there for dinner tomorrow night, so they could meet them.
“Is that why you wanted to know where we were going to Trick-Or-Treat?” asked Kyle.
“Yes, Kyle, you could say that. I figured if you guys had a plan now we could easily tell Gene and George about it tomorrow instead of starting from scratch. Now, boys … I don’t want you to mention this to any of your friends tomorrow. This is strictly for me. I would rather err on the side of caution than not be prepared if something does happen,” further explained ‘dad’ Ken.
“‘Dad’ … do you really think that Julian guy could come back and, you know … and try to take us away?” asked a somber Kyle.
“Kyle, and you too Kevin, I want to be more safe than sorry, which again is why I asked Gene and George to shadow you six tomorrow night. You are all my responsibility and I could essentially be considered negligent, with all my resources, if I didn’t do something to try to protect you from something happening to you.
“We all know that man Julian Hankers has indicated he wants you two to go live with him. We also know he didn’t do it the right way, so … well, he may try to do it the wrong way to get control of you both. As for your ‘brothers’, and maybe their friends going along, they could get caught up in anything he may try,” counseled ‘dad’ Ken.
“‘Dad’, do you think that maybe we shouldn’t go out begging for candy?” quietly asked Charles.
“Boys … you’ve been looking forward to doing this for a few weeks now. Yes, I could keep you from Trick-Or-Treating, but that wouldn’t be fair to keep you from doing this. I can’t and shouldn’t keep you in a glass bubble and never let you out to experience life. That is why I have Mr. Gene and Mr. George coming over to watch out for you six.
“I mean, you could get hit by a car tomorrow night crossing the street, and all I could do to protect you from that is hold your hand. But even then we both could get hit. Boys, there are so many ‘what if’s’ out there that no one can plan for them all. I want you all to have a good childhood and experience things now before you are out at college and then working and maybe building your own family. What good would you be if you never had the experiences?
“I’m getting long-winded here and I didn’t mean for it to happen. I want you four, and your friends, to have a great time tomorrow night going from house to house asking for candy. Robert and Charles will have Mr. Gene’s and Mr. George’s cell phone numbers and they will be fairly close that you could probably yell to them if you feel something isn’t right. … Do any of you have any questions for me?” finished up Mr. Ken.
The twins asked their ‘brothers’ to play a game with them before they went to bed. Robert and Charles wanted to watch a movie since they hadn’t done that in a long time. The movie won out. When Mr. Ken went down to the Theater to check up on the lads they were all fast asleep.
Mr. Ken first woke up Robert and told him to wait and take one of the twins with him. Then he woke up Charles and told him the same thing. ‘Dad Ken’ then woke up each of the twins and the four Cover lads all groggily walked up the stairs. As the four boys slowly walked up those many stairs, Mr. Ken called out to them to pee first before getting into bed. There was no reply.
Mr. Ken waited about fifteen minutes before ascending the stairs to check on the lads. He found Robert fast asleep on the top of his bed with most of his clothes still on. He next checked Charles’ room and found his clothes strewn all over the floor, but he was at least in his bed and under the covers. The man’s next stop was the twin’s bedroom. He didn’t know what to expect when he opened their door.
When Mr. Ken opened the twin’s bedroom door he was pleasantly surprised. He knew the boys had their difference as of late, but in the end, he knew they both loved one another. The boys’ clothes were thrown all over the bed, but they were both sleeping in the other bed. The two boys were also hugging one another with smiles on their faces. ‘Dad Ken’ checked to make sure they were both covered and before he left the room he scratched Chief behind her ears
Mr. Ken woke up the next morning, drained his dragon, put on his sport shorts and then walked outside to get his morning newspaper. His coffee maker had turned on as scheduled and before he sat down to unwrap the paper, he got his first cup of coffee.
As the owner of The Cove read his morning paper, Chief came walking into the Kitchen Nook for some ear scratches. She almost purred as she was scratched behind her ears as she had her eyes closed and he head down. When her original master stopped scratching she got up on the man’s lap and gave him a few doggie kisses.
“Thank you, Chief. I knew there was a reason I kept you around here,” smiled Mr. Ken.
“Ruff, ruff, ruff,” replied Chief, who then walked out of the Nook and went back up to the twin’s bedroom.
The Cover lad’s began waking up around 9 AM. As they woke up, they headed to the bathroom to get rid of some excess fluid, brush their teeth and take a shower. All four lads eventually wound up in the shower together and the topic of discussion that morning was Trick-Or-Treat. They all had these great ideas of how much candy they would get and how much fun they all would have since none of them ever remember going out and begging for candy. They all had a good laugh over their ‘dad’s’ name for Trick-Or-Treating.
It was 9:30 AM when the Cover boys entered the Kitchen Nook. They all said good morning to ‘dad’ Ken, and then went looking for something to eat for breakfast. Kyle settled on cereal and milk knowing he would be finished before his other three ‘brothers’ would be sitting down to their reheated breakfast tacos.
“You know what ‘dad’?” asked Charles.
“What’s that ‘son’?” replied ‘dad’ Ken.
“Well, this time last Saturday … Mr. Wayne had us loaded into the van and we all headed out to IHOP for breakfast. Why is it that you never do that for us, ’dad’?” smirked Charles.
“Hmm, that’s a good question, ‘son’. Do you have an answer for that?” smiled back ‘dad’ Ken.
“No. That’s why I asked you,” teased back Charles.
Kevin watched the back and forth between Mr. Ken and his pre-teen ‘brother’ and wished he could easily do that. He’d seen his twin do that with Mr. Ken and Robert, as well, but he could never get the hang of it. Sure, he did it once, or maybe twice, but he just never knew when he could say things and not get into trouble over it. He figured the more he watched the more he would know when he could try it.
“Well, I guess the answer is that maybe, that just maybe, I don’t like you guys as much as Mr. Wayne does. Or, maybe, I’m just lazy and like to relax around the house in my shorts and t-shirt,” teased back Mr. Ken.
“Ahh, you’re NO FUN! You were supposed to tell us to get our coats and you’d meet us in the garage at the truck,” replied Charles.
Mr. Ken then stood up and motioned to the boys to see how he was dressed and asked, “And you want me to go out like this? I don’t think so!” The man then sat down and went back to reading his paper.
The lads went back to eating their breakfasts as they looked back and forth to one another with smirks and smiles on their faces at what just happened and letting a few giggles escape their mouths. Mr. Ken looked up and smiled back at the boys, and told them that maybe he’d take them out tomorrow for breakfast. That put a bigger smile on their faces.
The lads went out to the ramps after they’d eaten, rinsed their dishes and put them in the dishwasher. It was way too early for their friends to arrive but the twins did use the open time to practice some of what Mr. Wayne showed them last weekend. Kyle was still a bit unsure of himself due to his cast. He felt unbalanced so he wasn’t riding as fast as he would normally do. Even Robert and Charles took the open time to enjoy the ramps without so many kids being there.
While the boys were riding their skateboards, the three teachers and a few of their students all arrived to look at where they would place the toy soldiers they would build for Mr. Ken as part of his Christmas Decorations. They met with Mr. Ken after he told the guard to let them in.
“Good Morning gentlemen, I am glad you all accepted my challenge to each build a Toy Soldier and display it here on my property,” said Mr. Ken, as he shook all the teachers and the students’ hands.
Mr. Ken showed his guests where they would place their toy soldiers on the light poles and how they could get electrical power if they wanted to lite them up or even animated them. The boys took measurements and asked how big Mr. Ken wanted them. The owner of The Cove said he thought an eight-foot toy soldier would be a good size but a 10-foot soldier would really stand out. The small group laughed at that. Mr. Ken also told the teachers he would provide the materials and all they had to do was contact his Estate Manager, Mr. Chris, and he’d get them a purchase order they could use to get whatever they needed.
One teacher asked Mr. Ken what was the prize he was offering to the boys. All Mr. Ken could tell the men was that Mr. Chris needed to find out what he could offer without getting into trouble with the Scholastic Board or their school boards. The teachers and the students all said they understood, but then Mr. Ken added that the prize would be a generous one. That put smiles on everyone.
As the students were walking up to the gate they spied the Cover lads riding their skateboards on what looked like homemade built ramps. They asked Mr. Ken if they could go over and see the ramps and how they were built. Mr. Ken said it was okay and walked with the teachers and students over to the ramps.
The lads stopped skating when they saw all the people heading to the ramps.
“Boys, these teachers and their students are going to build Toy Soldiers on each of the light poles out front. They saw the ramps and they wanted to see how they were built,” announced Mr. Ken.
As the high school students looked the ramps over, Robert proudly spoke up and said, “My ‘dad’ and my friend’s dads built these ramps for me and my friends back in the spring. They’ve held up pretty well since then don’t you think?”
The students looked closely at the corners and the materials used to build the ramps. They said they were all impressed but wondered how well they rode. Mr. Ken got a smile on his face and asked Robert and Charles to let the students use their boards for a few rides.
The high school students eagerly took the skateboards and got on the ramps. They did a few tricks and got some speed and showed the four Cover lads what they could do. Each student took their turn and were impressed by how sturdy the ramps were and what good shape they were still in being out in the weather all that time.
After all the students took a turn, the teachers and the students thanked Mr. Ken for allowing them the opportunity to compete against one another and for allowing them to try out the ramps. The boys walked their guests up to the Main Gate.
When the Cover lad’s friends began to arrive, the ramps filled up pretty quick. The Cover lads told their friends about the high school students and how well they rode the ramps and some of the tricks they did. The twins told them they were also happy they had the ramps to themselves for a least an hour before everyone arrived. That made all their friends laugh.
The Cover lads then decided to hang back and let their friends ride since they already had a good 60 to 75 minutes of riding beforehand even though they were interrupted by the students riding for a few minutes.
Inside, Mr. Ken got cleaned up for the day. He then checked his email first and answered those that needed a reply. He then pulled out the apartment complex plans and began to review them. He wanted to be ready to address any questions thrown at him at next week’s Commissioner’s Court Open Public Meeting. He couldn’t understand those few people’s concerns over the placement of the apartments as they fell into the right Planning and Zoning District.
Kevin and Kyle talked with their friends out at the ramps. They were all talking about the different Halloween costumes they would be wearing. Kyle happily told the lads about his Mad Hatter costume and all the colors it had. He told them he especially liked the huge hat he’d wear and the dark orange colored hair along with the white gloves and two different colored socks.
Kevin jumped into the conversation to tell everyone about his clown costume and that it was much more colorful than his twin’s. That brought about a few laughs over the fact the twins were competing with one another. Kevin told their friends he also had orange hair but was going to wear a loud-colored long-tailed jacket and clown pants with a white shirt. He also told them he had these big clown shoes to wear but he sometimes tripped while he wore them. The kids laughed at that and said they hoped they saw him out on the street.
With the twins talking about their Halloween costumes, the other boys started to talk about their costumes. Some of the boys said they were going out as Ninjas, magicians, or even Star Wars characters. A few said they were wearing old leather jackets or torn and patched hobo clothes with a long stick and a bundle of clothes at the end.
With all the talk about Halloween costumes, the older boys began to tease Robert and Charles because they were going out Trick-Or-Treating. The Cover lads took the ribbing in good stride but Robert got upset about it as they harped on him more than his pre-teen ‘brother’.
“Well, I’ll have you know … that I am going out as a Psycho-Clown. I’ll also be chaperoning my ‘brother’s’ and it would be better to be costumed, while walking with my ‘brothers’, than just a nerd, like many of you, will be tonight. Also, tomorrow, I don’t expect any of you to ask to taste ANY of my begged for candy as you all will have the same opportunity to go out and beg for candy as I have tonight. Any questions?” finished Robert.
The older lads didn’t know what to say. They figured they took their ribbing of Robert a step too far, but they didn’t know what to say. It was Logan, who else, who knew that Robert’s bark was worse than his bite and the oldest teen told everyone to chill. The older teen then asked those who were there, who really wanted to go out Trick-Or-Treating.
Trevor spoke right up and said he was going out with Terran and Sam and he thought Chuck was going along as well. Trevor said he had a costume and he wasn’t ashamed to go out looking for free candy. Chuck spoke up then, too, and said since he was going out with his younger brother and Trev and he was going to dress up as well and get some of that FREE candy. Hearing that made a few of the other twelve and thirteen-year-olds admit they’d like to go out Trick-Or-Treating, but they thought their parents would say they were a bit too old to do that sort of thing.
It was Charles who told them to call their parents and ask them if they could go out ‘begging for candy’ like Mr. Ken called it. The pre-teen said if you don’t ask they’d never know if they could go and then next year they probably would be too old to do it. Brad asked if they could all go out together if they can go. Then Gordon said he’d like to go out, but not by himself. Josh and Cody then spoke up saying they agreed with Gordon and asked if they could join in a group if they could go.
Now everyone was laughing that they all wanted to go out Trick-Or-Treating and they apologized. They shouldn’t have picked on Robert as much as they had since they all inwardly had wished they could go, too. After the laughing was over and their apologies made, the four teens all called home to see if they could go out ‘begging for candy’.
After the phone calls, Brad was the only one who wasn’t allowed to go. He told everyone his parents wanted him to walk with his younger brother, Brant, and his friends. So, Josh, Gordon and Cody said they’d meet back there at The Cove’s Main Gate and follow behind Robert and Charles’ groups.
The other boys wanted to know what the three teenagers were going to wear and all the teens would say was they’d have to come by The Cove at 6:30 that night to see what they had on.
The twins were happy there would now be three groups going out and they knew the more the merrier. They also knew that with so many kids going together the harder it would be for Julian Hankers to try to do anything to them. They, of course, knew not to say anything about Julian.
When David was dropped off by his parents they brought the things he’d need to go out Trick-Or-Treating and to spend the night. The lad was happy his parents allowed him to stay. He liked Charles as a friend and he knew it was Charles who helped him show his parents that he could handle more responsibility and most of all to be trusted.
While the lads talked and rode their skateboards, Ms. Judy came by with Eric’s costume and change of clothes for tomorrow. She stopped to talk with Ken and the two adults spoke about the Parchsons and what Ken might have heard up to then. All Mr. Ken could tell her was that Detective Carrier told him he’d be called if and when Parker Parchsons was arrested. Ken told Judy he asked him to call so he could decide on a time to tell the twins.
Judy wanted to know what the boys’ schedule would be for the night and Ken told her that Gene and George would arrive at approximately 5 PM. They would have dinner at 5:30 and the boys would go out Trick-Or-Treating around 6:30. The owner of The Cove told Judy that he’d talked to the lads and they had decided to walk the first street just outside The Cove and then drop off their beggings before heading over to the next street.
Judy then asked how Gene and George were going to watch the boys. Ken told her that one twin would walk in front of them and the other would follow behind. Ken told her the boys were going in two groups of three and would each go the same house one after the other. He told her he was using Gene and George as a precaution, but he didn’t figure anything would go down with all the kids who would be but begging for candy.
Ken reasoned with Judy that how would they know which kid is which unless the lads had their masks off. He told her that Robert and Charles had masks and he bought a white face for the twins to use with their costumes. Judy said she just hoped that nothing would happen to any of the boys. Ken asked her to stay there until the boys got tired enough to call it quits. Judy said she’d like that but had a ton of candy to pass out at her house. She did say she would stay in contact with him until the boys were home safe.
Since the boys were going home earlier today than they would on a normal Saturday they decided not to have a barbeque. The lads did go swimming for about an hour before they got out, dressed and then went to the top of the hill to wait at the Main Gate for their parents. Josh, Gordon and Cody talked about what they would wear and reaffirmed they would meet back there at 6:30.
All the lads were gone by 5 PM. It was then Gene and George arrived and were permitted to drive into the estate and park out front. Mr. Ken met the men outside and invited them into his Study to talk. After they discussed what Mr. Ken wanted them to do for him that night, the owner of The Cove asked his ‘sons’ to come into his work place.
“Kevin, Kyle, and David … I want to introduce you to Mr. Gene and his twin, Mr. George. These men will watch over you guys from the front and the rear as you walk, ‘begging for candy,’” chuckled ‘Dad Ken’.
“‘Daaaad’, we’re not going out begging for candy. We’re relieving the owners of all the extra candy they bought for their own use. We’re just making sure they don’t get fat or sick from eating it all by themselves,” teased back Kevin.
Hearing Kevin tease Mr. Ken and use the term ‘dad’, made all the Covers laugh. Mr. Ken went over and ruffled the lad’s hair and then hugged him for saying what he did and in a teasing manner. The other lads went over to him and patted him on his back for saying something totally out of his safety zone.
“Gene, George, Kevin isn’t one to tease us. He is usually very quiet and focused. It surprised us all when he said what he did. It shows me that he will be OK in the long run. The other lad is David. He is Charles’ friend who is going out begging for candy and afterwards is also spending the night. You already know Robert and Eric.
“Now, what say we all head over to the Kitchen Nook and eat? Momma Maria made us some food for me to reheat and if I did what her instructions said then we’ll all have a good meal before the lads get ready to go out begging for candy,” explained Mr. Ken.
Momma Maria had made three large pans each of chicken, beef and cheese enchiladas for Mr. Ken to pop into the oven to reheat for dinner that night. She also made Mexican rice and refried beans for Mr. Ken to reheat. There was also homemade salsa, sour cream and a blend of shredded Mexican cheeses for them to use with their meal. The Covers and their guests ate very well that night.
After dinner, Mr. Ken sent the lads upstairs to put their costumes on and told them he’d paint Kevin and Kyle’s faces when they came down. The boys happily hurried up the stairs.
When the six lads came down the stairs, the Cover lads had on the Halloween costumes Mr. Ken bought them, Eric came down wearing a skeleton outfit with a mask, and David was wearing a white karate uniform with a green belt. Mr. Ken admired all the boys’ outfits and then he told Kevin and Kyle to meet him in the Kitchen Nook, so he could paint their faces white. He then told David he’d do him, too, if he had some left over.
The entire group headed over to the Kitchen Nook to talk about how the boys would go out and Trick-Or-Treat. As Mr. Ken started to paint Kyle’s face white, Robert explained to the security twins they planned to go out in two sets of three and hit the houses one after the other. It was then Robert told his ‘dad’ that Josh, Gordon and Cody were going to meet them at the Main Gate at 6:30 and follow them. The teen told the adults that after his friends teased him about going out Trick-Or-Treating with his ‘brothers’, most of them said they all wished they could go out, as well, so they called home and got permission.
At first, Mr. Ken thought having the extra boys would be a game changer, but Gene told him that one of them will be in front of Robert’s group and the other would behind Charles’ group and they’ll have the others go after Charles, David and Kyle. George told Mr. Ken that they’d be close enough to hear them say Trick-Or-Treat, so he shouldn’t be too concerned. Ken then asked if they would be inconspicuous
George spoke up and told Mr. Ken that there would be loads of parents out there tonight with their own kids, so they should fit right in. Mr. Ken asked if they should fill in the other boys with what they are doing. Gene looked to his twin and then said that it would be up to him.
When Mr. Ken was finished painting Kyle’s face, he called Kevin over to have his face painted white. George saw David sitting there with the question on his face. He could tell the pre-teen was wondering if there was going to be enough white paint left over. George saw the time so he asked the lad if he wanted a green face to go along with his belt. David’s face lit up and he said he thought that would be cool, so George took a brush and the green paint and had David sit in front of him. George also gave the boy large black eyes to give his face some scare factor.
As the boys walked up the hill to the Main Gate, Mr. Ken had them each carry two bags of candy because that was where Mr. Ken would be handing out his Halloween candy that night. The guards saw them coming and their mouths began to water seeing all that glorious candy being brought up there.
When the lads arrived at the gate, Josh, Gordon and Cody were already there waiting. As soon as they saw Mr. Ken and all the big bags of candy they simultaneously said, “Trick-Or-Treat” and pushed out their empty pillowcases. Mr. Ken had to smile as he gave out his first handfuls of candy for the night.
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