It was close to 5 p.m. when the large limo delivered the Covers home to The Cove. The guards welcomed them home, and told the owner there was nothing significant to report. Ms. Judy and Chief entered The Cove shortly thereafter, and upon opening her door, Chief ran to her fellow Covers.
The resident pet didn’t know which one to go to first, so with her tail wagging a fast as it could she went to every Cover and gave them some doggie kisses. It was Mr. Ken who got the brunt of Chief’s exuberance, as she almost bowled him over when she jumped up on him to greet her first master home.
Ms. Judy and Eric hugged like mother and son would, and soon Robert joined them. While that was ongoing, Mr. Ken asked Mr. Dan and Mr. Wayne to spend the night, so that way they could all sit back and relax and talk about their trip. The two men said they needed to get home and get their laundry done, so that way they could relax the following day before going back to work.
Mr. Ken reminded them he had four High Efficiency (HE) washers and dryers and they could get it all done before they went to bed that night. The men looked back and forth to one another, and then agreed to his terms. All three men laughed at that.
“Boys, take your luggage to your rooms and empty them. Put your dirty clothes in the hampers, and your toiletries where they belong. Oh, and take your swimsuits to the washers, so we can get the salt out of them. When everyone is finished, we’ll all meet, and head over to Four Corners for some dinner,” announced ‘dad’ Ken.
At dinner that evening the nine Covers, along with Ms. Judy, talked over one another as they told Judy Turner all about their trip. The woman couldn’t keep track of what they were each all saying, but their enthusiasm told her the boys had an awesome time.
When they all returned to The Cove, Mr. Wayne gave his boss the camera’s digital chip and asked the man if he would set up all the videos and pictures for them all to view down in the Theater. Once Mr. Ken had that done, he asked everyone to find a seat in the Theater.
The pictures and videos were shown in the order they were taken. Mr. Wayne narrated as the pictures came up, so Ms. Judy knew what was happening. Since there was audio on the videos, Mr. Wayne waited to ask Ms. Judy if she had any questions after the video clip was finished.
The boys loved seeing what they did through someone else’s perspective. They also cheered when they saw something they liked. They laughed when they saw one of their ‘brothers’ do something funny. They cringed when they saw someone ‘crash and burn’, as they fell off one of the Aquaglide floats, or the ropes course. The boys got overly involved in describing the Family game that had the two Cover teams competing against one another.
Ms. Judy watched as her son had fun doing everything his ‘brothers’ did. She thought back at her first contentious meeting with Mr. Ken Thomas, and how the Governor intervened to place Collin into Mr. Ken’s care. She considered that was the worst possible decision anyone could have ever made leaving a teenager in the hands of a recent college graduate, with no parenting skills to speak of.
But, here, also, was Judy Turner thanking her lucky stars that her son, her adopted son, Eric, was a part of something so wonderful she could and had cried over. Judy Turner watched a few years ago as her friend Ken had helped Collin heal physically and mentally from his captivity after watching his parents being gunned down in front of him.
Judy knew how protective the man was, when the teen had problems at school, and what he did for the young man when someone was watching him while living at The Cove. She also saw how the man fought for the teenager when his grandmother sued him to force Collin to live with her.
Judy Turner, the Director of Children’s Protective Services, wished she had a hundred more Mr. Ken’s in her foster care program. The man truly cared for and loved the boys who came to live with him there at The Cove. She knew the man would do whatever he thought was necessary to make sure the boys had a regular life full of experiences they could look back on as they grew, and eventually had their own families.
As for her son, Eric, the youngster had two teens, Collin and Ryan, he called his older ‘brothers’ to go to, and talk with, about whatever was on his mind. Her son got to go places and do things she could never have afforded. Her son became even more involved at The Cove when Robert came to live there, and became his Best Friend.
The woman knew Eric looked up to Ken Thomas as a surrogate dad, and she was happy Eric had an adult male in his life with the wisdom, foresight, time and money, as well as love, which, he openly shared with all his boys, including her son.
“Judy … Judy … you with us?” asked Ken Thomas. “You sort of zoned out on us there for a bit,” laughed the owner of The Cove.
“Oh, ahh, yes, I guess I did,” replied Judy Turner. “Watching all these videos and seeing the pictures of the boys made me think of these past few years that you’ve been such a big part of Eric’s life.
“You’ve done so much for him, and your foster sons that I can’t fathom what all their lives would have been like, if it weren’t for you. Thank you, Ken, for your generosity and open love for all of your ‘sons’ and, of course, Eric, too.” Ms. Judy then had to wipe the tears out of her eyes.
Everyone heard the simple exchange. Mr. Dan and Mr. Wayne knew the significance of what Ms. Judy was saying. The boys also felt there was more to it than just what the woman said. Eric, on the other hand, felt he understood more than the other boys did, and went to his ‘mom’ and hugged her tight.
“Thank you, mom, for letting me be a part of The Cove, and enjoying all the things I have since my ‘brother’ Collin lived here. I love you, mom!” said the teary-eyed teen, as he hugged the woman, who adopted him so many years ago.
After watching videos and having the pictures narrated for almost two hours, Ms. Judy said she needed to get home. She thanked the men for taking Eric with them, and showing him a wonderful time. The woman told the men there was no way she could ever thank them for their time and the love they showed Eric. She hugged all three men, and excused herself to use the little girl’s room before going back to her own home.
Mr. Ken walked his friend, Ms. Judy, to the Foyer Door, and thanked her for the hug earlier. They made some small talk before Judy said she needed to get home. Mr. Ken waited at the door until he saw Judy start her car, and drive up toward the Main Gate.
After Ms. Judy had left, the boys began walking up to their bedrooms, as they were now feeling the effects of being up since 7 o’clock that morning, going through customs, flying home, going out to dinner, and watching their own antics from the last seven days over the past two hours. They all stopped and thanked their ‘dad’ for a wonderful vacation, and then hugged him tight.
As the boys walked up the stairs, Mr. Ken called Robert and Eric back to talk with him in his Study. He asked the teenagers if they were still interested in cutting the large field. He told them it was in need of having the weeds and tall grasses cut down, as the growing season was beginning.
The owner of The Cove told the teens he needed a decision from them otherwise he’d get Mr. Chris to hire a company and take over, cutting and trimming the field. That question caught the teenagers off guard. The boys hadn’t even thought about the field let alone cutting it.
Robert told his dad they would talk about it tonight and let him know in the morning. The teen also asked when they would need to cut the field. Mr. Ken told them tomorrow as Easter was coming up and he needed the field looking nice.
The three adults went upstairs to talk to the boys before they went to bed. The boys again thanked all the men for the time they spent with them, and for making their Spring Break trip so much fun. The twins and Matthew were the most thankful as they had never experienced any type of vacation in their young lives. They gave the longest and tightest hugs.
Even though the boys were in bed by 11 p.m., none of them were downstairs for breakfast before 10, the next day. And, even then, they had that ‘I’m still tired’ look in their eyes. Mr. Ken hugged all the boys as they came into the Kitchen Nook, and told them to have a seat while he warmed up some of Momma’s breakfast tacos for them.
As the Covers ate, the boys eventually woke up and were more animated. They all talked some more about their vacation and some of the things they each thought was the best part of their trip. Eventually, the boys headed up to get their showers and put on some clean play clothes.
Before heading upstairs, Robert and Eric stopped to talk to ‘dad’ Ken about the field. They decided they wanted to keep their job, and would change into some dirty clothes, so they could start cutting, and edging the field today. Mr. Ken told them to get as close to the orange construction fencing as they dared, and they could get closer as they edged. The boys hurried to start on their job.
Even though it was a Sunday, many of the Cover boys’ friends were still on vacation and wouldn’t be home until later that day. The ones that did show were able to see some of the pictures and videos of the Covers’ Spring Break trip. All the boys then shared what they had done over the past seven days.
Robert and Eric were able to get the large field cut in record time that Sunday. But, that was because at least a third of it, or more, had been taken over by the construction project and the collection pond. They knew that once the skate park was completed, and all the debris was removed, they’d have a good part of the field back to cut and edge, but it would still be smaller than the first time they cut the field.
The Covers went out to eat that night, but not to Four Corners. The boys wanted breakfast for dinner, so that night they wound up at IHOP. The three adults also appreciated they had a wide variety of foods to choose from, but when it came time to order they all ordered either the breakfast sampler, or the split decision breakfast. They dropped Eric at his home before heading home themselves.
After dinner, Mr. Dan and Mr. Wayne collected their clean clothes and headed back to their own apartments. They thanked Mr. Ken for taking them on such a wonderful and exciting trip. Mr. Dan told his friend he’d get in contact with him after he caught up on what happened while he was gone. Mr. Wayne told his employer he’d be over by noon tomorrow.
Mr. Ken had his boys go to bed early that Sunday night. He knew how hard the boys had gone for the last seven days, and how tired they looked that morning, so he wanted them to get a good night’s rest before heading off to school in the morning.
Monday morning Momma Maria couldn’t wait until her boys came down for breakfast. She had pancakes, bacon, sausage and scrambled eggs ready for them.
“Ohss, there’s my Ninos,” exclaimed Momma, as the boys walked into the Nook together.
“Ohss I messes youse alls sos mucho mys ninos. Comes heres tos Mommas fors a welcomes homes hugs,” continued Momma Maria, who gave a hug to each of the boys before they sat down.
The woman, who made practically all their meals, fixed five plates and presented them in front of the boys. The boys all thanked Momma for making them their breakfast and then began to eat. They all smiled and almost purred as they again ate Momma Maria’s personally prepared food. Momma then served her employer, Mr. Ken.
‘Dad’ Ken watched the interaction between the boys and Momma Maria, and inwardly smiled that they all had this special connection amongst them. As he was daydreaming, Momma refilled his coffee cup, and then smiled at the man as he toasted her for doing so. A new week had begun, and it would be a busy one for all the Covers.
Once the boys left for school, Mr. Ken went to his private retreat to get ready for the day. When he came out to the Kitchen Nook for a fresh cup of coffee, he found Mr. Chris already at work. The two adults drank coffee and talked about what was on the list for that week they both needed to focus on.
At school, the boys and their friends talked about what they’d done on their Spring Break. Of course, there were classmates who just had to say their trip was more special than anyone else’s was. Robert’s nemeses, Joanna Schwimminger and Kaelyn Farlow, along with their posse just had to mock him, as he told his classmates about all the excursions, he and his ‘brothers’ did.
Charles had the same problem with Leah Hoalmes, and her posse, as they tried to talk over whatever Charles wanted to say. Eventually, Charles got tired of Leah’s antics and yelling over the girls' constant blabbing, so he told his friends they could talk in the Boys Restroom. The boys all walked away and went there to talk.
The twins didn’t have any such trouble. Their classmates were all interested in the twins’ cruise and what they did. The twins only wished they had some pictures, or some of the videos they could have shown their friends.
Matthew didn’t have to find his classmates to tell them about his trip. They sought him out to hear what the newest Cover did during his Spring Break, with Mr. Ken, and all of his ‘brothers’. Matthew was happy having so many close friends and acquaintances, because he never had any when he lived with his mom, and all her boyfriends, as they traveled around Texas.
Matthew’s classmates also asked him about the skate park; how much was done and what yet needed to be completed. All Matthew could tell them was that while they were gone the construction company had begun to form one of the skate bowls. They asked him when it would be all done, but Matthew could only tell them it was supposed to be finished by the first week of June.
Back at The Cove, Mr. Ken was busy on the phone. He talked to his construction supervisors at the office building, the hotel and the new apartment complex he was putting up over at Four Corners. He learned the hotel was the closest to being finished and they wanted him to stop by that week to look over the finishes before they started bringing in the furniture and kitchen equipment.
The office-building supervisor told Mr. Ken they were fully finished on the first and second floors and would soon finish the third and fourth floors and were on schedule to have the entire office building ready by the first week of August barring any major setbacks.
Mr. Ken arranged to visit each of his three major construction projects that week. He needed to catch up on the progress and be aware of any potential holdups. Mr. Ken’s biggest concern was the apartment complex he started building right after the start of the New Year.
The owner of The Cove used the remainder of his day to coordinate with Mr. Chris about what was upcoming, like the Easter Egg Roll, 4th of July Picnic and the party he wanted to have as a Grand Opening of the Cove Skate Park.
The owner of The Cove also got with Mr. Wayne on the skate park progress, and asked him to try to get a WAG (Wild Ass Guess) of the completion date. The Owner of The Cove explained he wanted to schedule a Grand Opening Picnic with all the boy’s friends and families in attendance.
The last phone call Mr. Ken made was to Jason. He asked his onsite manager about his new Crystal Lake Amusement Park, and how the park was getting ready for opening day. He also wanted to know if his FFF (Fast/Faster/Fastest) Pass would be ready for that opening. Jason said he had the wristbands and then asked if Mr. Ken had set the prices yet.
Mr. Ken paused and told Jason he felt their initial offering would be $24.95, $34.95 and $44.95. The park owner added that Jason should go with those prices, unless he heard something to the contrary. Jason thanked him for that guidance, and added he would begin to advertise those prices beginning one month before opening day, unless he heard otherwise. Mr. Ken then hinted he would be out that way sometime around Easter, maybe before, but probably after.
Mr. Ken looked at the time and figured he had enough time to call his other three amusement park operating managers. He also inquired of them as to how they were coming along in preparation for opening day. He also wanted to know about the new flat rides and if they were going to be ready for opening day or sometime later. The amusement parks’ owner gave them the same guidance about the FFF Pass that he gave Jason. Before he hung up, he hinted he would visit the first week of April or sometime right after Easter.
The boys came home from school all happy and boisterous and immediately went to see their ‘dad’. They told him that nothing out of the ordinary happened at school, and they would be back after they had their after-school snack.
Momma Maria was happy to see her niños as she had missed them all last week, while they were on their cruise. She did enjoy her week off, but she also loved what The Cove was all about. Momma Maria loved being around all the boys, and seeing how they loved one another and acted as a ‘family’.
After their snack, the Cover boys told their ‘dad’ how all the kids told everyone about what they did for their Spring Break. Charles had to tell ‘dad’ Ken about Leah and her posse and how she wouldn’t let him talk, and how he and his friends had to go into the boy’s restroom to get away from her.
Robert then told his dad how Joanna Schwimminger, Kaelyn Farlow and their friends had to mock him as he told his classmates about all the excursions they did. The teenager wondered if he would ever get away from under those girls.
Matthew asked if there was a way, he could show his friends some of the pictures from their cruise. The youngest Cover told his ‘dad’ he wanted to be able to show his pals what he’d done over their cruise, especially him doing the zipline.
Mr. Wayne heard the plea in Matthew’s voice, so he asked the boy for his cell phone. The man asked his boss if the pictures and videos were still on The Cove’s server, and if he could download some of them onto Mathew’s cell phone? Getting his employer’s permission, the Estate Master then did some changes to the phone, and then went to the computer and then linked the two.
Ten minutes later, Mr. Wayne had downloaded a number of pictures from the cruise onto Matthew’s cell phone that predominantly showed the young Cover doing some of the things he did on their trip.
Once the other Cover lads saw what Mr. Wayne had done for Matthew, they all wanted some of their pictures and videos on their cell phones. The Estate Master spent the next hour doing the same for the other four boys. The boys were sent up to do their homework while Mr. Wayne worked his magic.
“Wayne … I could have done that, you know. But I am glad you did it for the boys. It shows them you can be relied upon to handle things, and they don’t necessarily have to come to me to do everything for them. I guess I’ll just have to let you do all the planning from now on,” laughed Mr. Ken.
All Wayne Mitchell did was laugh right along with the owner of The Cove, his boss, and continue to download the predominant pictures, and videos of each Cover boy onto their cell phones. Mr. Wayne then took out his own cell phone and did the same for himself. When he was finished Mr. Ken had passed his own over for the same consideration. The two men had a good laugh over that, too.
At dinner, that evening ‘dad’ Ken had to tell the boys to put their cell phones away. He told them he wanted to hear the conversation at the dinner table not the clicking of cell phone inputs, and giggles of what they saw themselves doing. The boys said they understood, and did as they were asked. The conversation at the table resumed as it used to be.
After dinner, the Covers headed to the Study, as they usually did, where they talked some more about their day. But what was happening instead was that the boys were still engrossed in their pictures and videos on their cell phones. Mr. Ken asked them to put their phones aside, so they could talk to one another.
“Boys … I want to talk to you about what the upcoming events are that you need to know about. The biggest thing for now, that is, is the Easter Egg Roll coming up in about two weeks. Robert will remember how that all happened last year, and it was over a long Friday night and all-day Saturday.
“I’m not going to do it that way this year. This year we will work on getting the Easter Eggs ready this Saturday, and have the Easter Egg Roll the following Saturday. That way it won’t ruin your entire weekend.
“The boxes of prizes and plastic Easter eggs should arrive sometime Friday. Then, Saturday, we’ll all go out to the garage and get started making winning prize tickets and stuffing them into the plastic Easter eggs. The remaining eggs we’ll stuff with either nickels, dimes, quarters and a few will have paper money in them,” began to explain ‘dad’ Ken.
The Cove’s teenager, Robert, spoke up and said, “Yea, I remember last year. It took us almost all of Friday night to get the eggs ready for the next day’s Easter Egg Roll. Then, Saturday morning all of us were out in the field, putting out what must have been over a thousand plastic Easter Eggs. When that was done, we had to do the side field between the driveway and the fence for the littler kids.”
“Yes, that’s how it happened. But I want to spread it out, so that this Saturday we do what we did last year on Friday and then the next Saturday morning we’ll place the plastic Easter Eggs out in the areas we used last year.
“Robert and his friends helped last year, so I will ask them to help again this year. The high school junior class didn’t get back with me about them taking over the Easter Egg Roll, as a class project, so I need helpers.”
Kyle raised his hand, as if he was in school, and then said, “Why would the high school juniors help with the Easter Egg Roll, ‘dad’?”
“Kyle, in high school, the different grades are always looking for ways to make money to help offset their yearbook, class trip and, or, prom expenses. So, this would be a good way for me to support the high school, which you will be a part of, one day. This could give them a permanent fundraiser to make money and get credit for doing a Community Project,” Mr. Ken tried to explain, to the lad.
“But, what makes it so difficult that you need all that many kids?” further asked Kyle.
“Hmmm, when you see all the boxes on Friday you will understand,” said a smiling ‘dad’ Ken.
Robert quickly jumped into the conversation. “Kyle, when we helped last year we had to separate the prizes into different winning categories. Then, we had to make and print out winning prize coupons and place them into the plastic Easter eggs.
“Then, with the remaining plastic Easter eggs we filled them with nickels, dimes and quarters, so the kids always win something. After the Easter Egg Roll is over, the kids who have a winning prize coupon come to the garage to claim their prize. There is only one prize per child, even if he had multiple coupons, by the way,” finished the teenager.
“Boys, this year, there are only a hundred and fifty of the Easter Eggs that will contain the prize coupons,” added ‘dad’ Ken. “We had way too many prizes leftover last year; if I remember correctly. I took them to the local children’s hospital, so the kids there had something for Easter.”
“Dad, how many people will be helping?” asked Kevin.
“Hmmm, let me count. Wayne and I make two. Then, there is Todd and Conner, hopefully, for two more. Then, I am hoping that Robert will ask Eric, Brad, Chuck, Gordon, Logan, Cody, Josh, and Trevor to help, as most of them did last year, making 9 more.
“And Charles, if you’d ask all of your friends at school tomorrow to join us in getting the Easter Egg Roll organized on Saturday that will add 12 more for a total of 25, if my math is correct.
“Adding Kevin, Kyle and Matthew bring the final total to 28, ‘dad’,” replied Charles.
“Yes, it does. With that many we should be able to knock that out in no time,” teased ‘dad’ Ken.
“Can all of our friends help too?” asked Matthew.
“To be honest with you, Matthew and Kevin and you too Kyle, I … I can’t really use 40 helpers. But, you are a Cover and that automatically gives you status, so you can help if you want. So, if you choose to help then the ramps will definitely be less crowded
“But, why do Charles and his friends get to help and ours can’t?” asked an exasperated Matthew.
“Matthew … having 40 people work in the confined space of the garage just won’t work. But having you three there will give you the experience for when you take over the job in a few years from now when your brothers are all gone off to college,” tried to explain ‘dad’ Ken.
The Covers weren’t back from their Spring Break cruise for a week yet when Judy Turner called Ken Thomas and asked him if he was available to accept another boy. This time a fourteen-year-old freshman, who would soon turn fifteen, and was in desperate need of placement.
Mr. Ken reminded Ms. Judy he would need to talk with his boys, as he has since Matthew was brought on-board. The Director of Children’s Protective Services understood what Mr. Ken wanted to do, and she asked him to let her know later tonight if he could.
After dinner, ‘dad’ Ken asked his boys, and Mr. Wayne, to meet in his Study as he had something important, he needed to talk to them about. Robert whispered to his ‘brothers’, as the boys walked there, that he’d bet his dad was going to ask them if they were ready to have another ‘brother’. The only question was, how old would the boy be. Then Matthew spoke up and asked, “What if it is another girl?” That shut all five Cover boys up.
Everyone had their own new leather chair to sit in, with two being vacant, since Mr. Ken sat behind his huge desk. But, seeing there was a vacant chair for him, the man got from behind his desk and sat in one of the new chairs. The owner of The Cove asked everyone to move their chairs into a circle, or as close to it as they could come.
“Boys, Robert guessed it as you walked back here. And, Matthew, it is not a girl,” chuckled Mr. Ken.
“Ever since we added Matthew to our mix, I have brought us all together to discuss the addition of another foster child to The Cove. I believe Caroline was a disaster, and since then I’ve told Ms. Judy not to ask me, or us, to take on another female, no matter what their age.
“As Robert guessed, Ms. Judy called me today while you were at school and asked me if I was ready to add to my growing number of boys. Of course, I told her that I would talk to all of you first, so we all knew what we were getting ourselves into, and how we would proceed.
“William ‘Billy’ Dirketson … he’s a fourteen-year-old freshman, who will turn fifteen next month, I believe it is. He’s been in other foster homes, but it seems he’s outstayed his welcome at his current foster home, and they have asked he be moved.
“As with the twins and Matthew, I will not tell you why William is in the system. It will be up to him to tell you, and likewise you telling him why you are here. I’d ask you to let William get settled before you even ask him or tell him about your situation.
“There are two empty bedrooms upstairs, and he’ll be given the option to choose from them. If we take William on, I’ll tell him he can use the girl’s bathroom if yours is too crowded, and likewise, you all can use that one if you feel you need or want the privacy. I know some of you younger boys don’t change with the older boys down in the Men’s Locker Room, so you can keep your modesty in check if you want.
“He will catch his school bus later than you all do, so he won’t be getting up when you do, so the bathroom situation may not be a problem. Even though he is older than all of you, I will remind him that it is he who’ll need to fit into The Cove, not The Cove changing to his way of thinking.
“Now … Ms. Judy asked me to let her know tonight if she can bring William over tomorrow. I would like to call her, but if you want to wait until breakfast to tell me your decision, then she’ll just have to wait until then. So, boys … what do you want to do?” asked ‘dad’ Ken, to finish their discussion about adding another boy to the mix.
The boys mumbled amongst themselves, then Robert asked his dad if they could go up to their bedrooms to talk it over. Mr. Ken said it was okay with him, but to let him know one way or another before it was too late to call Ms. Judy.
Upstairs, the boys kicked around how old William will be compared to them. Robert told his ‘brothers’ it wouldn’t be any different than when Kevin and Kyle and then Matthew arrived at The Cove. The teen reminded them he was thirteen, Charles was twelve, the twins were eleven and Matthew was ten. The boys kicked around how different it would be adding another boy and all his friends.
Charles told them they would hopefully have their skate park finished around Memorial Day, and that was just two and a half months from now. That brought up more discussion over how many people will the skate park hold, and who will be using it.
The Cover boys discussion continued until it got late, so Robert went down to the Study to tell his dad that they hadn’t come to a decision yet, and wouldn’t have one until breakfast.
‘Dad’ Ken called Ms. Judy to tell her the boys were still discussing William. Ms. Judy asked him if he knew what the stumbling block was. All Ken could tell her was, he thought the boys were concerned about William’s age, and his adding more boys to the mix, and having to share the ramps they had. He told her he would have a decision after breakfast.
At breakfast, Mr. Ken waited for the boys to tell him their decision. It took the silence at the table for Robert to finally speak up.
“Dad … the twins and Matthew … they … they are concerned about how the new Cover and his bigger, older friends will act towards them. Especially at the ramps where they are already way too crowded. We want him to be our ‘brother’, but … we just don’t know how he will … well, fit in, I guess you could say,” explained Robert.
“Hmmm … so, boys … I take it … you are okay with Ms. Judy bringing William over today. Is that what you all say?” ‘dad’ Ken directed back to the boys.
They each looked at one another, and then back at their ’dad’ and they each said yes. But Matthew added he hopes the new boy isn’t a bully. Mr. Ken said he understood and would watch his actions. That done, the breakfast table took on its normal morning routine of clattering utensils on plates and banter between the boys.
The boys finished their breakfast, gave Momma Maria a hug and then headed to wash their face and hands before heading to catch the school bus.
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