Three Finger Cove: Matthew ~ Book Five

“Hey, everybody, ‘dad’ says he has one last Christmas present to give us, and it is in his Study. I think it’s behind a cloth on an easel in there,” said Matthew, as he came running into the Kitchen Nook.

“Did you get Max’s phone number?” asked Kyle.

“No. When I saw the cloth over something on the easel in the Study, I asked ‘dad’ about it and he told me it was our last Christmas present and for me to come and get you guys,” replied Matthew. “Come on let’s see what it is! And, you too Mr. Wayne.”

The five boys hurried to the Study with a smiling Mr. Wayne close on their heels.

“Dad, Matthew says you have one last Christmas present to give us. Is it … is that it behind that cloth on the easel?” asked Robert.

“Boys, have a seat. This has been the hardest secret to keep ever since I decided to buy this,” started ‘dad’ Ken, before being interrupted.

“Is that an expensive painting for us?” asked Matthew.

“Good guess, but no it isn’t. The last gift behind the cloth on the easel started about two months ago and ever since only four people you know are aware of this. I’ve had people come to The Cove while you were at school, so you’d never find out about this. I suspect I succeeded, don’t you think Mr. Wayne?” said ‘dad’ Ken.

“What is it dad?” asked the teenager.

“Come on ‘dad’, stop teasing us. What is it?” asked an anxious Charles.

“Yea, ‘dad’, come on and tell us, or I’ll go get my joke books and tell you a bad joke,” said Kevin.

All the boys laughed at what Kevin just said. It wasn’t so much what he said, but how he said it. It was totally out of character for the twin as he sort of yelled and threatened their ‘dad’ and all he did was smile.

“OK, I guess I can tell you … NOT!” teased ‘dad’ Ken. … “I have to show you. Robert, come up here. I’m going to let you do the reveal.”

Just then the phone in the Study rang. Mr. Ken looked at the Caller ID and saw it was Dan. He picked up the receiver.

“Dan, what can I do for you? I’m about to reveal to the boys their last Christmas present,” said Mr. Ken into the mouthpiece.

… …

“Oh, I see. I guess there’s nothing we can do about that, now, is there? You’re sure it was them?” asked Mr. Ken.

… …

“Yes. And, how does Barnes want me to play this?” the boys heard their ‘dad’ ask.

… …

“Yes, that will work. I’ll not answer the phone unless I know who it is and since we’ll be gone for four days and hopefully things will settle down by then. If not, we’ll just have to deal with it when we return home. Anything else?” asked Mr. Ken.

… …

“Oh, so Barnes knows who blabbed, but … he only demoted her. That’s because the reporters already had the name, but hadn’t revealed it and just wanted confirmation and all the officer said was that it was someone here at The Cove. I can live with that. Thanks, Dan. Will you be over later?” finished ‘dad’ Ken.

… …

“Dad, what was that all about?” asked Robert.

“Boys … the newspaper and television reporters … they know it was Matthew who spilled the beans on the four men who were arrested last night. It appears that after Matthew told his friends they told some of their friends who told other friends. It was from those friends that a parent called the newspapers and told them the story.

“You heard me tell Mr. Dan that I won’t answer the phone as the reporters will be calling to confirm what they already now know. I’ll ask you not to answer your new cell phones either unless you know who it is. Also, if you answer and talk with them, and they ask about the robbery, just tell them you can’t talk about it right now.

“The proverbial cat is out of the bag, but for now we are ignoring it as we have more important things to do. Do you have any question?” asked the boys ‘dad’

It was then that three of the five new cell phones rang. Everyone laughed. Then the Study’s desk phone rang. Mr. Ken saw it was Ms. Judy, so he answered it as the other three boys answered their cell phones.

“Yes, Judy, what can I do for you?” said a cheery Mr. Ken.

… …

“Yes, it is true. But, we are not confirming it, until we get back from our trip. The boys are aware of what’s happened, but we all agreed to keep quiet. Even if their friends call,” laughed Mr. Ken.

… …

“You know … it may be best if you pick Chief up tonight, because my bet is the reporters will start gathering at the Main Gate if they aren’t already there. Or, we can drop her off in the morning. Just let us know how you want to do this as you are doing us all a very big favor. Plus, I think Chief will enjoy being away herself, so she can see and do different things.

“You know, you could even take her to work with you to help keep the reporters away as they will eventually figure out Matthew is one of yours. And you can bet they’ll want answers that you can’t legally give,” laughed Mr. Ken.

Robert was on his phone with Eric while his dad was on the phone with his Best Friend’s mom. Charles was on his cell phone with Cooper and Matthew was on his new cell phone with Brant who he called to make sure he had the right number. All three told their friends they weren’t allowed to answer any questions about the robbery.

That is except Eric. Robert told him everything since his dad was telling his mom practically the same thing. Robert felt it really shouldn’t matter, because Eric was going with them tomorrow and he’d learn everything then anyway.

When everyone had finished their conversations it got very quiet in the Study.

Mr. Ken looked on at all of his ‘boys’ and said, “Now, where were we?” The man smiled.

“OK, boys, I’ve dilly-dallied way too much. So, without further delay, Robert … come on up here and do the honors,” said ‘dad’ Ken.

Robert went up to the easel and grabbed hold of the cloth and was about to pull it off whatever was behind it when Mr. Ken’s Study phone rang again. Dad Ken told his son to wait until he took that call.

“Yes, Collin, where are you,” asked Mr. Ken.

… …

“Oh, I see. You got a late start and should be here within the hour. That’s good. Oh, you better get something to eat along the way, as we have nothing here to speak of,” laughed Mr. Ken.

… …

“Oh, they got tons of gifts. They must have been real good as Santa gave the boys lots of presents,” said the college student’s Big Bro.

… …

“We’ll see you then, Bye,” finished Mr. Ken.

“OK, let’s get on with this. Robert … pull the cloth away,” directed the teen’s dad.

All five boys gasped at what they saw.

“‘Dad’, are … are you … are you going to build us … our own skate park?” asked a wide-eyed Charles.

“Yes, ‘son’, I am. This is just the artist rendition, mind you. We can talk about the different aspects of the skate park later.

“Plus, boys, I am also going to build you a covered pavilion that will have boys and girls restrooms, a storage room for a freezer for your burgers and dogs, and a water fountain, as well as a refrigerator and an ice maker similar to the one I have in the garage. I also plan to install soda and water bottle machines to keep them cold for you. There will also be a gas grill twice the size of what you boys use now.

“There will also be ceiling fans, plenty of lights, and of course security cameras. There will be a sink and tables for the cleanup of your utensils when you’re done. The pavilion will also have plenty of picnic tables and seats, which, by the way, we haven’t chosen which ones to get yet. So, you boys can help us when it comes time to purchase them for the pavilion.

“‘Dad’, how long will it take to build the skate park?” asked an excited Matthew.

“Well, they are supposed to begin construction right after the first of the New Year. The plan is for them to be finished by the first of June. But that doesn’t take into account weather delays. So, we have to figure two days of delay for every day of bad weather,” answered ‘dad Ken.

“How does that work? If they have one day of delay why isn’t it one added day?” asked Kyle.

“Boys, the first day of delay is the weather day, then they have to allow the site to dry which is considered the second day. But that doesn’t happen for every weather event. Say it rains for a half hour and the sun comes out. That won’t count.

“But, if it is raining at the beginning of the day and they can’t work or they don’t work until after lunch then we have to allow for a weather delay. Mr. Wayne will be the project manager for the skate park. It will be up to him and the construction supervisor to come to an agreement. Does that make any sense to all of you?” finished ‘dad’ Ken.

Just then the Study phone rang. It was Ms. Judy saying she was coming to get Chief and she wanted to know if she could drop off Eric at the same time. Mr. Ken told her to come on and they’d have Chief’s stuff ready to go when she got here. Robert was very happy his Best Friend would be spending the night.

Robert and Charles went to the Pantry to get Chief’s things that Ms. Judy would need for Chief for four or five days. The rest of the boys followed to watch and see what they would need to do in case they had to do it one day. Mr. Ken was very happy the boys didn’t need any encouragement to do that for him and Chief.

Mr. Wayne stayed in the background the entire time. He watched, listened, and learned how his employer did what he did with his ‘boys’. When he saw Mr. Ken pick up the phone, after the boys left for the Pantry, he asked whom he was calling. The man told the Estate Master he was calling the Main Gate to have them tell any reporter that they had left for their Holiday Vacation. Mr. Wayne smiled at the misdirection.

Ms. Judy and Eric arrived about twenty minutes later. When they came through the gate Ms. Judy had Eric duck down, so any nosey reporters wouldn’t see him arrive and never leave.

“Merry Christmas, Judy, Eric come in,” was how Mr. Ken greeted the Turner’s.

Chief came bounding in the Foyer area barking up a storm and going directly to Ms. Judy as if she was a long-lost friend. The boys quickly followed with Chief’s kibble and a few play toys and one of her favorite sleeping beds.

“Chief, it seems you are looking forward to your own vacation with me as much as your boys are looking forward to their vacation with their ‘dad’,” said Ms. Judy, as she patted and scratched behind Chief’s ears.

The boys loaded Chief’s things into Ms. Judy’s car and brought Eric’s luggage inside. The boys all said Good-Bye to the resident pet and watched as she and Ms. Judy loaded into the car and drive off.

As Ms. Judy drove through the Main Gate she told the guards ‘Merry Christmas’. It was then the nosey reporters came over to them and asked about Mr. Ken. The gate guard told them that the Covers had left for their Holiday vacation and Ms. Turner was taking care of the resident dog. Chief then made herself known to the reporter by barking a few times.

The reporters walked away disappointed they missed their great opportunity. Many of them got into their cars and drove away, while a few figured that was just a ploy and the man would eventually come out, so they waited.

Inside The Cove, Eric couldn’t believe what he saw when he looked at the skate park artist’s rendition. He and Robert carefully looked it over and recognized all of the elements like ramps, mini spines, fun boxes, rails and quarter pipes. But the items that caught their eyes were the many different bowls and how deep some of them looked.

The other Cover boys came into the Study as the Best Friends were discussing the new skate park. The younger boys asked them to show them the different skate park elements and explain what they were to them.

The older boys showed them on the rendition what they thought each element was and what it was used for. When it came to the skate bowls, the teenagers pointed out to them what they thought each element was and how they’d use it.

They told their ‘brothers’ that the longest bowl looked like it started very shallow, something like 3 feet, and could possibly be 8 feet deep or more at the other end. The big thing about the skate park, they all figured, was that way more than 40 boys could almost skate at the same time. Smiles were on all their faces.

“Boys … it is time to go pack. We have an 8 a.m. take-off time and that means we have to be on the road no later than 6 a.m. Which you know will require you to be up, showered and down here by 5:50, so we can load the limo and get on the road.

“I’ll set out a few breakfast tacos for each of you to thaw overnight. That way you can have a light breakfast in the morning. They will feed us on the flight back east, so there will be no need to stuff yourself. Now, get a move on and get packing. Mr. Wayne and I will be upstairs in a bit to help,” explained ‘dad’ Ken.

Eric already had his bags packed and they were sitting there in the Foyer. He had his carry on and a change of clothes for tomorrow, so he helped Robert pack. The younger boys didn’t have a clue as to what to do. Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne knew that, so they showed up about five minutes after the boys headed up to their bedroom.

Mr. Wayne went to Matthew’s room and the youngster was happy the man chose his room to help. The man told the youngest Cover what to do and why, so Matthew did it and as he did he began to see the wisdom in doing it that way. Mr. Wayne did tell him that he may have to adjust as the situations change, but essentially what he was doing was what he needed to do.

Mr. Ken went to the twins’ bedroom and began explaining how he got ready for a trip. The twins took out the things their ‘dad’ told them to and set them aside. Once the boys had what they needed, Mr. Ken explained how to pack it properly so it would all fit. Each boy took out their new suitcase and did as instructed.

It took the boys about an hour to get their things out and packed. But since that was the first time for most of them the time used was good. After that, they went downstairs to rummage through the pantry and freezer to find something to eat. Mr. Ken didn’t want to go out to eat in case a few persistent reporters stayed at the gate. They decided on burgers and dogs.

Collin arrived while the Covers were packing. When he came into the home, after all the shared hugs, the college freshman told his Big Bro that there were reporters still at the Main Gate. He also said he told them he was the house sitter while the family was away. Mr. Ken thanked Collin for saying that, because that was something he never considered.

The boys had to show their Big Brother their new Cove Skate Park as they began calling it. Collin was amazed at the size, and scope of the project, and hugged his Big Bro for thinking about his ‘boys’ and their happiness.

Then the boys just had to show their Big Brother all of their Christmas presents. Collin couldn’t believe the number of presents, and that his Bro knew what they needed. He particularly loved the tablets. He looked Robert’s over and began to set it up. After he got Robert started he had to help the other four boys, but he loved doing it. He was ‘home’, at The Cove, where he felt it was where he belonged.

Mr. Ken wanted the boys up in bed by 10 p.m. But, they still had time before that so the boys took pictures of the new Cove Skate Park and texted them out to all of their friends. They also told them they were already gone because of the news reporters, so none of their friends would tell other friends who would tell the news media. It was a white lie, which Mr. Ken approved of for the boys to do.

The Cover’s friends all texted back they couldn’t wait to see the artist’s rendition when they returned next Tuesday. The Covers had to text back they would be home late Tuesday and the earliest they would see it was Wednesday.

“Boy, it sure is strange not having Chief here with us,” lamented Matthew. “I guess with her staying with me I miss her. I hope I can sleep tonight,” sighed the youngest Cover.

No one reacted to Matthew’s lament, but the adults took notice. So many things had happened to the boy ever since he arrived two months ago. Now that Lincoln was locked up, Mr. Ken hoped the boy could sit back and relax, until the final decision of what would happen to him.

When it was time to head off to bed, the boys didn’t argue. They knew what the next day brought and they wanted to get as much sleep as they could. The three adults did talk some more before heading off to bed themselves. But Mr. Ken did a detour to his ‘boys’ rooms to say Goodnight to them.

Five o’clock comes very early when you go to bed late. Mr. Ken didn’t get to sleep before eleven because he had so many small things on his mind. The other two adults fared a little better, but they still didn’t appreciate the very early wake-up call.

The boys were all downstairs by 5:35 a.m. Robert took the breakfast tacos out of the refrigerator and put them in the microwave, so they heated quicker than the convection oven. The limo arrived at 5:45 and the boys stopped eating to help carry all the bags out to the vehicle.

After last-minute dragon draining calls, the Covers loaded into the stretch-limo and headed out the Main Gate. Mr. Ken had the driver stop, so he could remind the guards there were timers on many of the lights and they needed to forward that information to their reliefs. He also told them to shoo away any reporters wanting to talk to them and tell the nosey news media they wouldn’t be home until Wednesday, at the earliest. That said the Covers were on their way.

Since it was a Saturday, and the day after Christmas, traffic was very light that morning. It also helped that they got on the road at 6 a.m. The drive was lively with the talk between the college man and his younger ‘brothers’. Since Robert and Eric had already been to all three amusement parks, they told everyone about what they’d see and what they could ride.

The Covers arrived at the San Antonio International Airport Charter Aviation section in record time. The boys helped unload the limo and place the bags on the security cart. Their bags would be inspected before being loaded onto the airplane.

After being cleared by TSA, the Covers walked out to their chartered aircraft, a Gulfstream G-280 Super Mid Jet and loaded into it. Once the flight crew received clearance from the air traffic controllers, one of the crew explained the emergency exits and equipment. Then they were ready for taxi and eventually take-off.

During take-off, the three newest Covers had the window seats. They’d never flown before and Mr. Ken wanted them to see what was outside as they flew eastward. As the plane rose up to cruise altitude the three had to explain what they saw and how small everything was looking to them.

None of the new flyers felt airsick and that was a good thing going through Mr. Ken’s mind. The three newest Covers were looking forward to eventually getting up to the cockpit to look it over and maybe even flying the airplane.

But first things first, one of the crew came to each of the Covers and asked them what they would like to eat. Since they each had two of Momma’s breakfast tacos they weren’t too hungry until the attendant told them what they had to offer. The boy’s mouths began to water upon hearing their choices.

All of the Covers got something to eat. Some ordered waffles, others wanted French toast, they could also have an egg, sausage or bacon and cheese muffin or combination of whatever they wanted. Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne got coffee while the boys got either milk or a soda.

From the time they ordered until the crewmember served, and they ate, took about an hour. There were eight passengers on board, so it took much more time to heat up the menu items. But they didn’t’ care. The flight time was expected to be about 3 hours with a loss of an hour upon arrival, since they flew back through one time zone.

When the pilot and co-pilot knew their passengers were finished eating, they asked their third crewmember to find out who hadn’t been up to see a cockpit yet. Three hands went up when they were asked that question. The crewmember looked at the three boys and selected Matthew to go first. The smile on the boy was as if he had won the lottery. He giggled all the way to the front.

The pilots had Matthew stand in the doorway in order to familiarize him with most of the instruments. The youngster was mesmerized by all the switches and gauges there were all around the pilots. They explained to the boy what their individual responsibilities were. Then they did a short quiz to see if he had been listening

The youngest Cover passed their quiz, and his reward was he was invited to sit in the co-pilot’s seat. Kevin and Kyle saw their ‘brother’ move out of the doorway, so a man could get out. The next thing they saw was their ‘brother’ go further into the cockpit and sit down. Before they knew it, they watched as Matthew had his hands on the controls and was flying the plane. They were stoked that they might get the chance to do that too.

The pilot let Matthew fly the plane for about twenty minutes. He let the boy turn the yoke some and hit a few switches that didn’t mean anything, but it gave the boy a thrill he’ll always remember.

When Matthew went back to his seat, he couldn’t contain himself. He had to tell everyone everything he did, including the quiz and flying the plane. The adults told him he did a good job and thanked him for his efforts.

The crewmember then had to choose from either Kevin or Kyle. They asked who was older and then took the younger one, Kyle. As Kyle walked to the front of the plane, his smile was just as big as Matthew’s was.

The pilots did the same thing for Kyle, as they did for his ‘brother’. They let Kyle stand in the doorway to become acquainted with the cockpit arrangement, switches and gauges. After a while, they gave the boy a quiz and then he and the co-pilot exchanged places.

The pilot had Kyle do a bit more than Matthew had, but it was all superfluous stuff. Anything he did didn’t alter the flight path or the configuration of the plane, but he had fun doing it. Kyle didn’t know that and he was all smiles when he went back to his seat. The twin then had to compare his experience with Matthew’s.

Kevin was up next. He was ready to go and when he was called to the cockpit door he was up and out of his seat before the crewmember could finish. Kevin had the same initial experience his younger ‘brothers’ had. He watched the pilots fly the plane, they showed him the instruments and gauges and switches and explained to him what they were all for. Then they gave him their quiz.

Everyone in the back of the place saw when Kevin was asked to change places with the co-pilot. Those closer to the front of the plane could watch inside the cockpit and see what the three boys did while sitting in the co-pilot’s seat. They didn’t know what the gauges and switches were that their ‘brothers’ touched, but they could see their ‘brothers’ smiles being a mile wide.

Since Kevin was the last one to get to sit in the co-pilot’s seat, he also got to stay there longer than the other two Cove boys did. Kevin didn’t realize that was happening, as he was too focused on what the pilot allowed him to do.

When Kevin finally came back to his seat, it was then he was told he got almost 30 minutes whereas his ‘brothers’ only got about 20 minutes. That put a big smile on the older twin.

While the Covers flew east, the boys who had flown with their ‘dad, or Big Bro as in Collin’s case, before compared the planes they’d flown in. That aircraft was definitely the largest jet plane any of them had flown in before. They decided, after a few tries, there were too many differences to make the comparison. So, they talked about the pluses of that plane.

But, before too long, the early wake-up time and the rush to begin their trip caused the boys to all begin to try to fall asleep. The boys on the sofa that seated four couldn’t get too comfortable, as it didn’t recline. It did fold out into a bed, but that would have only helped two of them. Thus, the long sofa seat stayed upright.

When the pilots knew they were thirty minutes out from landing, they had their crewmember in the back make sure their passengers were all awake and prepared for landing. The boys had just gotten comfortable, and now they had to wake up and sit up with the seat belts on. But the boys at the windows could lookout to see where they were. They were totally enjoying their first airplane flight ever.

The boys watched the entire landing from their windows, but they weren’t prepared for when the wheels dropped down from under the plane. Robert and Eric calmed them down and explained what it was.

When the Covers offloaded from the plane, there was a baggage cart ready to take their belongings to the terminal. Once in the terminal, ‘dad’ Ken met with their driver. He then told the boys to use the restroom, even though they had used the full lavatory onboard the business jet.

‘Dad’ Ken also called out to them, as they hurried away to the restroom, to meet him back at that point. Mr. Wayne made sure all of the bags were loaded into the limo. Collin made sure the boys made it safely to and from the restrooms. Mr. Ken was the last one to relieve any pressure in his bladder.

The boy’s adventure had already begun and this was going to be the second leg. This meant they would go to the hotel, get their rooms, and place their bags inside before they headed to the first amusement park.

Mr. Ken got three suites for the nine of them. Mr. Wayne had the twins with him in his suite and Collin had the two teenagers in his. Mr. Ken had Charles and Matthew in his suite.

Mr. Ken also told the boys they’d change rooms over the next two nights and each night a different set of boys would stay with him. He added that if they had to stay another night, for whatever reason, he’d figure out who stayed then, too. They tried to get him to tell him who would stay with him tomorrow night, but he wouldn’t tell.

After taking their luggage to their rooms and claiming their beds, they unpacked some. They all met downstairs in the lobby fifteen minutes later. Mr. Ken did a headcount, then they loaded into the limo for the ride to their first amusement park, Fantasy Fun Park.

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