Ms. Judy Turner had sneaked into the back of the Courtroom after her doctor's appointment. She, and Eric, arrived well after the hearing had begun and missed much of what Athena Washington had said. The Cover boys saw her and she whispered for them to stay quiet while she listened to what was happening and figure out what, if anything, she could do.
Ms. Judy heard enough to know that the women who preceded her in the position as Director, Amanda Pettit, and her Deputy, Emma Hughes had to be behind what was happening there that afternoon.
Then, Judy Turner, the current Director of Children's Protective Services, saw the two women seated in the corner trying to look inconspicuous. She, herself, tried to do the same, as she didn't want Athena to know she was back to work, just yet
Judy Turner had already heard enough from the time Judge Richards provided a quick review of what Athena Washington had already used as an excuse to disqualify Mr. Ken Thomas from adopting Charles. She waited to hear what else the Deputy Director had up her sleeve, before she would enter the hearing.
It was when Athena asked that ex-Director Amanda Pettit, and the ex-Deputy Director, Emma Hughes be allowed to testify that Ms. Judy knew it was time for her to make a grand entrance. That was when she stood up and yelled, "I object!"
Ms. Judy walked forward and stopped at the swinging doors in the railing that separated the Court from the public gallery. She stood there waiting for the Judge to recognize her. And, while she did that the Director of CPS looked over to Athena and smiled.
"Ms. Turner, I was told you were recovering from your surgery and would not be available for this hearing. Are you okay and should you be up and about?" asked Judge Richards.
"Yes, your Honor, I just came from my doctor's appointment, who gave me a good bill of health. He also told me not to run any marathons, at least just yet. He gave me a conditional release to go back to work, but asked that I try not to work the full eight hours a day just yet. He asked that I give it at least two more weeks before I go back to my regular schedule," answered Judy Turner.
"Did you hear what your Deputy Director, Athena Washington had to say about Mr. Thomas not being qualified to adopt young Charles? And, that she wants to send all of his foster boys to new foster homes. And, the kicker is that she wants the courts to rescind his adoption of Robert?" asked Judge Richards.
"No, Judge Richards, I did not hear that she wanted to reassign Mr. Ken's 'boys' and have his adoption of Robert annulled. From what I did hear, from your review of what she'd said up to then, I figured she was attempting to delay, or even stop his adoption of Charles.
"As for Mr. Thomas having money, we both know Mr. Thomas owns the Four Corners area which includes the restaurant and diner, the Go-Kart Track, the miniature golf course, the strip mall and is building the 400-unit apartment complex.
"The man also assisted the county in building the Lakeside Water Park and provided the money the county used to build the infrastructure that enabled him to construct the Four Corners area. So, I would say the man has money and income from his businesses.
"And as for his use of a charter service instead of a major airline, that is his choice. If he can afford it and it meets his requirements then CPS has no control over how he spends his money. It was an unfortunate incident, but those can and do happen to aircraft. The plane landed safely and they all arrived home in a limousine.
"Judge Richards, may I ask what else Athena used to justify Mr. Thomas' disqualification as an adoptive and foster parent?" asked Judy Turner.
"Let me see," began Judge Richards. "You already covered the plane and his income, so ... oh did you know she called Mr. Thomas ... a possible drug dealer, and that was where he got his money?"
Judy Turner, upon hearing Athena called Mr. Ken a possible drug dealer, immediately looked over at the Deputy and mouthed at her that she would see her Monday morning, first thing.
As Ms. Judy was looking over at her Deputy Director, Judge Adam Richards waited until the woman was focused back at him. Judge Richards then had the Court Reporter read back what the Deputy Director said about the boys never leaving the estate.
The Court Reporter began reading. "CPS also claims that Mr. Thomas never gives his charges freedom to leave his estate and when they do he is always with them, or has someone to watch over them."
"Mr. Thomas never gives his charges freedom to leave his estate and that he never kept CPS abreast of what happened to his foster sons," spoke Judge Adam Richards. "Can you believe that?"
"Then, on top of that, she asserted he sent his 'boys' out to Trick-or-Treat without adult supervision and knew full well that there were men out there who wanted to kidnap his 'boys' and their friends," finished Judge Adam Richards.
"Your Honor, all I can say is Athena ... that she was definitely going off the reservation by herself. We talked about Charles' upcoming adoption before my surgery, and she never mentioned any of those issues with me.
"And, now, hearing she wants the previous Director of CPS, Amanda Pettit, and her Deputy Director, Emma Hughes, to testify tells me ... tells me they are behind all of this and the three of them ... must have been planning this for quite some time and were looking for the right time to try this all over again.
"Those two women ... they must still be angry at what they allowed to happen, so many years ago. They tried to blame someone else for their attempt to disqualify a prominent resident of the county from being a foster parent ... and they got caught red handed. They had their hearing and were dismissed from their positions. End of story, or so I thought.
"There definitely needs to be an investigation over this travesty, and I will initiate one come Monday. In going back to Athena's assertions, did she offer any concrete examples to back up her claim? My bet is she probably gave some lame defense of her claim. Just as Amanda and Emma tried to do.
"As for Mr. Thomas never letting his foster boys leave his estate ... THAT ... is a total fabrication. The boys went Christmas shopping with Mr. Wayne Mitchell, The Cove's Estate Master and Sheriff's Lieutenant Dan Fischer. The boys go to school every school day, they've been to The Mall, amusement parks and they even spent some nights at their friend's homes.
"As to her assertion that Mr. Thomas sent his 'boys' out Trick-or-Treating without adult supervision is an outright lie. Two retired Sheriff Deputies were hired by the man to assure security and keep them in line while out and away from the estate. As Director of CPS, I was aware that he was going to do that and I was OK with it.
"Yes, Mr. Thomas was cognizant that one of the men arrested wanted control of the twins, but so was the Sheriff's office. Mr. Thomas could not have fought off those men by himself, so his hiring of Gene and Gorge Warren was the best thing he could have done to protect his 'boys'.
"As for Athena's allegation that Mr. Thomas didn't keep his caseworker informed, that too is an outright lie. You see, your Honor ... I ... I am the boy's caseworker and since my son, Eric, has his Best Friend living at The Cove ... I am over there quite often. As a matter of fact, I just spent the past week as a guest there while I recovered from my surgery.
"While I was there, you Honor, I participated in many of the activities the Covers did. And all that time I was there I used it as a way to write up an in-house study. And by the way, the boys are quite healthy and other than Charles' surgery and Kyles' broken arm they have not had to visit their primary-care doctor.
"Many of these allegations are reminiscent of the charges that Amanda Pettit brought against Mr. Thomas. They sound very much like what she tried to use to strip Mr. Thomas of his foster parent license and move Collin Wilkinson to another foster home. Where, I may add, that the teenager would have been exposed to any nefarious individuals who could cause him harm as others tried twice to do.
"As the Director of Children's Protective Services, I approve of this adoption and I will sign the adoption papers for Mr. Ken Thomas to embrace Charles Lewis as his legal son," announced Judy Turner.
Judy Turner turned to Athena Washington and asked the woman to give her the official adoption papers. Athena searched through her briefcase for those same papers, and as she brought out the official adoption paperwork, it appeared that she fumbled the papers and they scattered.
When the official adoption papers came to rest they were situated on the edge of her briefcase. She made a motion to grab them, but somehow, instead, caused the lid to close which not only creased them but also tore them. The papers were no longer legal and could not be used by the Judge to finalize the adoption.
Athena Washington showed shock on her face that it happened and immediately apologized for her clumsiness. She held up the creased and torn adoption papers for the director and Judge to see, but she couldn't hide a slight smirk on her face as she handed the destroyed papers to her boss. The Judge was beside himself. He could not believe the woman would deliberately do that.
And, now, after hearing how the woman had used unsubstantiated allegations to try to stop the adoption proceedings and cause trouble, not only for Mr. Thomas and all of his foster boys, she intentionally ruined the official adoption papers.
But, Ms. Judy Turner, the Director of Children's Protective Services, had an ace up her sleeve. The woman opened her own briefcase and pulled out an identical set of official adoption papers. She smiled at Athena and then proceeded to the Judge's Bench. She signed the official adoption papers there in front of the judge and then gave the man those same papers to sign.
"This is outstanding, Ms. Turner. Who would have thought you'd have a backup copy of the required papers. The adoption proceedings can now proceed. ... On another note, before I take Charles back to my chambers, I wanted to say to Ms. Washington ... don't think your antics here this afternoon won't go unnoticed or unreported.
"If you had all of these allegations that would stop these proceedings today, you needed proof, of which you produced none. You also should have presented these charges well before we met here today, so an investigation could have happened and we wouldn't have wasted our time this afternoon.
"Now, Charles and I, we will retire to my chambers, so we can talk about his adoption. This court is in recess for the next twenty minutes," announced Judge Adam Richards, who then pounded his gavel down on the 'sound block'.
Once the Judge and Charles Lewis exited the courtroom, the people in the gallery began talking amongst themselves. The Cover boys also headed to talk to their 'dad' about what that woman was trying to do. Matthew wanted to know if he had that same problem when he adopted Robert.
Ms. Judy came over to Mr. Ken and apologized to him for what her Deputy tried to do to him. She also told him she had no idea Athena was in contact with Pettit and Hughes and was going to try what she just did. She added that, had she known, she would have recommended a later date for the adoption to occur.
The Cover boys heard what the two adults were talking about, and they wanted to know what would happen to Ms. Washington. Ms. Judy told them she would start an internal investigation, but that from what she heard Judge Richards say, she said she'd bet the State Regulators would also look at the transcript of the proceedings and make their own recommendation.
"Charles, do you know why I brought you back here?" asked the Judge.
"Well, Robert told me it was for you to ask me what decorator changes I thought you needed in your chambers," laughed Charles.
"You scamp," laughed Judge Adam. "Well, at least you have a good sense of humor and I hope it is from living with Mr. Ken. But, I need to ask you about your living at The Cove and how you like it, and if there were any problems between you and Mr. Ken."
"No problems that I can remember. All the time I've been living at The Cove, I had hoped that Mr. Ken would adopt me. When he asked me if I wanted him to adopt me, I couldn't have been happier. I was at other foster homes and they all sucked. Being with 'dad' Ken has been the best thing that could ever happen to a foster kid like me.
"I mean, my mom ... she was involved with 'Smokey' ... who then wanted to kill me after he found me at Three Finger Cove last 4th of July. He told me he wouldn't kill me ... that he wouldn't kill me until he ... until he and his friends had one more 'party' with me ... being their sexual play toy, he meant. I know I shouldn't be ... but ... well, I'm happy ... he is dead. Now, I don't have to worry anymore about him finding me.
"Mr. Ken knows all of that and he got Doctor Doug to work with me about all of the torment and sexual abuse I had at the other foster homes. And, you know what? 'Dad' Ken ... he never asked me about any of that. He told us he wouldn't ask us what we talk to Doctor Doug about, and he said that if I don't allow Doctor Doug to tell him he will never know.
"Charles, it sounds like you found the right man to be your new dad. I am happy for you. Now ... the question I need to ask you is ... have you thought about what you want your name to be?" asked Judge Adam Richards.
"Yes, Robert told me you would ask me that. I thought about it and ... and I want it to be Thomas. I do not want to ever be associated with the name of Lewis, again. So, I want my name to be Charles James Thomas. Will that be a problem?" asked Charles.
"No, son, it won't be. I'll make the annotation on these adoption papers and that will be all that is needed. ... Is there anything else you want to talk about?" finished Judge Richards.
"No, not really. Now that I've found my forever home, I won't ever have to worry about being sent to live in another foster home like that Ms. Washington said she was going to do to all of us next week.
"I now worry about the twins and Matthew. Their parents ... they are all in jail, like my mom is, and until they know what is going to happen to them they can't be put up for adoption. I just ... well, I just hope Ms. Judy can keep them from being sent away from The Cove," finished Charles.
"Yes, Charles, I understand what you are saying. And, I am sure Ms. Turner ... she will do her best to keep all of you boys together. Now ... what say we go out to the courtroom and make this all official," announced the Judge.
Charles smiled at the Judge, got up out of his chair and started walking to the door. The Judge quickly followed the teenager.
"All rise" called out the bailiff, as the Judge entered the courtroom with Charles besides him.
Charles hurried to his 'dad' and they hugged. After that they sat down at their table.
Judge Adam Richards, presiding District County Juvenile Court Judge, sat down at his bench, looked around at the spectators, and then gaveled the courtroom back into order.
"Ladies and gentlemen ... we came here today to celebrate and consummate the adoption of Charles James Lewis to Kenneth Richard Thomas. Charles and I had a good long talk. I had to make sure he really wanted to be adopted by Mr. Ken. Seems like he does," laughed the Judge.
"And now, after talking to the teenager, oh, and by the way ... today is his thirteenth birthday, I have approved this adoption. And, now the teenager will have two reasons to celebrate this day.
"Ok, now that his adoption was decided, I asked Charles if he wanted to change his name. It seems the lad has thought about this for a few days and he has made his decision. Charles James Lewis will be now known as Charles James ... Thomas. He wants the name Lewis to never be associated with him, again.
"OK, now that I have done my part of the adoption ceremony," started Judge Adam Richards, "by talking to the adoptee and determining that he definitely does want to be adopted, and that he also wants a name change to match his new dad's.
"Thus, by the authority vested in me as the presiding District County Juvenile Court Judge, I hereby approve the adoption of one Charles James Thomas to one Kenneth Richard Thomas. Let them be known as Dad and Son from this day forward."
"I now declare these proceedings concluded." With that said Judge Richards slammed his gavel down on his bench and began signing the finalized adoption papers. The observers in the courtroom burst out in applause and those close to the new dad and son began congratulating them.
"Now ... I'd like dad and son to come forward, so I can be one of the first to congratulate them," said Judge Adam Richards, who then came down from his Judge's bench to greet the two. The Cover boys lined up behind the Judge, so they could congratulate their 'dad' and 'brother'.
The delay Athena Washington caused at the adoption ceremony didn't cause the Covers and their entourage to be late to the Four Corners Restaurant, since the ceremony began an hour earlier than Robert's had.
Once all of the congratulations had abated, Mr. Ken announced he was serving light refreshments over at his Four Corner restaurant and that everyone was invited to celebrate his adoption of Charles, as his new son.
When Charles and his new dad arrived at the restaurant, the people gathered there began to applaud. Charles, with a big smile on his face, raised his hand and waved to the people to acknowledge them. The new teen and adoptee was surrounded by well-wishers.
Ken Thomas was also surrounded by well-wishers for the man's adoption of Charles. They wanted to congratulate him and tease him by being such a young, handsome man who now has two teenaged sons and no wife. Mr. Ken took the ribbing at heart and laughed right along with the well-wishers.
It seemed like everyone who was there came over to Charles and congratulated him on his being adopted by Mr. Ken and wouldn't have to worry about being sent to another foster home.
Charles' Adoption Party at Four Corners got into full swing and virtually everyone who attended the adoption ceremony was there. Many of Charles' classmates and friends, Camm, Asher, Mason, James, Jacob, Hunter, David, Tyler, Cooper, Richard and Dylan, whose parents allowed them to play hooky for half of the school day, and were at the courthouse, were now there at the restaurant to congratulate him on becoming Charles James Thomas.
The loud talk and excitement between Charles and his friends was as if they had all won the Texas Lottery. Their little confab was so loud that new dad Ken Thomas, had to come over to them and tease them into not destroying other people's hearing. The boys all laughed.
Charles' friends told him how happy they were for him. They all shook his hand and told him they'd talk to him tomorrow at The Cove. They offered they wanted the others some time to talk to him. Robert thanked his friends for coming and he agreed they could talk tomorrow.
"Charles, this has got to be one of the BEST days of your life," said Sheriff's Lieutenant Dan Fischer, as he grabbed the lad and hugged him. "I want you to know ... you've added a presence to The Cove that will now be forever known.
"I am glad now that you will be a permanent member there and part of Mr. Ken's expanding family. I've got to get back on patrol, but I wanted to come over, congratulate you and welcome you as a permanent member of The Cove."
The two hugged one another one more time and Mr. Dan headed back to work.
Judge Richards, along with his wife, Kathleen, then came over to Charles. Upon coming up to the teen, the judge apologized to him for what Ms. Washington was trying to do that day. The Judge told the newly adopted Cover that he will send a report to the State regulators about her conduct and it will be up to them to decide what will happen to her, if anything.
Kathleen Richards, the Judge's wife, hugged Charles and congratulated him on becoming a True Cover. The woman told the new teenager that she knew Mr. Thomas would be a great dad and for him to now shoot for the stars. The three shook hands and the judge and his wife congratulated the teen one more time and then they walked away.
Mr. Wayne saw the judge walk away, so he quickly filled in the void. "Now, you are a True Cover at The Cove," chuckled Wayne.
"I think this is the best thing for you and for your new dad. I didn't know very much about you, until Mr. Ken filled me in on all of you boys when I got my Foster Parents license back in January and I was then working full time for him," finished the Estate Master.
"Thank you for coming to celebrate my adoption, Mr. Wayne," replied Charles. "I figured my dad told you all about us kids once you decided to work for him. There isn't much more to know about me. We were all surprised when Billy revealed he knew who I was from back when my mom worked for 'Smokey."
Mr. Wayne hugged Charles once more, congratulated him again, and then walked away
Momma Maria and Mr. Chris came over next and congratulated Charles on his adoption. They both told him they were very happy for him and would see him back at The Cove. They told him they wouldn't take up too much of his time. They told him there were many other people who wanted to give him their congratulations, and they can talk to him back at the house.
Momma hugged Charles and had happy tears in her eyes as she walked away. Mr. Chris shook the hand of the newly adopted son of his boss, Ken Thomas, patted him on his back, and, then, he too walked away.
That was how the Celebration party went for Charles. Everyone who was there came over to him and told him how happy they were for him and his new dad, of course, Charles thanked them all for saying what they did and celebrating his adoption by his new dad. Charles smiled really big when he heard himself say 'My dad'.
Since it was Charles' birthday, the staff at the restaurant brought out a large birthday cake with thirteen burning candles on top. They started the birthday song and everyone there joined in. When the song was over, the new teen blew out the candles. Everyone applauded.
It was when his new dad, carrying a small wrapped box, came over to him. Many people saw the man approach his newly adopted son, so they stopped talking and watched what was going to happen. Mr. Ken hugged his new son and he then gave him the present.
"Dad, what's this?" quickly asked the man's new son.
"Well, most people open a present to find out what the gift is." laughed new dad, Ken Thomas.
Charles quickly ripped the wrappings off the wrapped heavy rectangular gift to see what it was. When he finally got the gift, when he pulled it out, he saw what it was.
"Dad ... this is so ... so awesome! I love it!" said Charles, who then hugged his dad.
People around the two Covers asked the teen to show them what his dad bought him.
Charles held up a black metal plaque with words cut out that said, "My Dad was the Original Cover and Now I am a True Cover, too!' Charles got tears in his eyes. He then grabbed his new dad and hugged him for all he was worth.
All of Charles' friends wanted to see and hold the plaque Mr. Ken had just given his new son as an adoption gift. They all loved it and what it represented. They were happy for their friend and asked him where he would hang it in his room.
Charles heard what his friends had asked, and said, "My room? I'm gonna hang it right in the entrance Foyer. I want everyone to see it," laughed Charles.
Mr. Ken heard the boys talking, so he went over to them. The boys asked him if he heard his new son was going to hang his plaque in the entrance Foyer. Mr. Ken laughed and said, "Over my dead body. He'll hang it in his room, or else!" New dad Mr. Ken then grabbed his newly adopted son and hugged him tight. The boys watched and then together said, "Ahhhhhhhh."
As the party wound down, the twins, Matthew and Billy went over to their 'brother' to talk about what happened at the adoption ceremony at the courthouse, and to hang out with him. Robert saw his five 'brothers' hanging out together, so he and Eric went over to them.
They all knew their 'dad' was busy with Mr. Ed Henry, the operations manager of the Four Corner's diner and restaurant. They figured their 'dad' was paying the bill, so they'd wait for him to finish, so they could all go home.
The last of the guests began to leave and they stopped by one last time to congratulate Charles. As Mr. Ken and Ed Henry talked, 'dad' Ken looked over and saw his six 'sons' looking bushed from all the talking and standing around.
The owner of The Cove and the Four Corners Restaurant, where the Adoption Party was being held, figured he'd better take his 'boys' home, so they could rest and relax before dinner. The owner of The Cove excused himself from his talk with his restaurant manager, collected his charges and they all headed home.
Upon arriving home, the lads headed up to their bedrooms to change and start any homework they had before they were called for dinner. After a few minutes, Mathew came knocking at Charles' bedroom door.
"Can I come in?" asked Matthew.
After the youngest Cover came into Charles' bedroom, he sat down on the bed and looked to his 'brother' and asked, "Do you feel any different? You know ... now that you're 'dad's' real son."
Charles turned in his chair and looked at Matthew. He thought about the question and after a few moments he answered, "No, not really. I am still Charles and he is still dad, but I feel ... I feel relieved that I won't have to go anywhere else, ever, again. You know ... I won't ever be sent to another rotten foster home where the people could care less about me and more about the money they make off of you."
"Can I ask why, you know, why ... why you took 'dad's' last name for your own?" said Matthew.
"Yeah, you can," laughed Charles. "Dad and Robert ... they both told me Judge Adam would ask me that question and told me to think about it. Well, I thought about it. I decided ... I decided that I didn't want people to ever ask me about being a Lewis. You know ... some stuff about me and what my mom did. I figured if I took dad's last name ... I could move away from that terrible episode in my life. Well, at least, I hope I can."
"But ... but what about your mom? Don't you ever think about her and ... and ... and do you want to ever visit with her?" asked Matthew.
Charles thought about it for a few moments and then replied. "Matthew ... my mom ... she did some bad things ... many of which affected me. But, the worst of it was she ... she let 'Smokey' take me and ... and use me. It was 'Smokey', and his friends, who were responsible for me ... for me having to have my surgery.
"Now, only you, Robert and my dad know that information. We told everyone it was a hernia, but it was actually because ... because it was 'Smokey' ... it was 'Smokey', and his buddies, who ... who ... raped me," revealed Charles, who now had tears in his eyes from thinking back to those bad days.
Upon seeing the tears, Matthew jumped up and hugged his 'brother', knowing what he just revealed to him was very, very private and still a very painful memory to him. The two boys hugged and after a few moments broke apart.
"Matthew," began a still teary-eyed Charles, as he wiped the tears away, "It ... it still hurts that my mom ... that she used illegal drugs and then got hooked up with 'Smokey'. She was so stoned the majority of the time that ... that she didn't care where 'Smokey' took me, or ... or what he did to me.
"I got tired of being used by 'Smokey' and his buddies, and ... and my mom ... not ever caring about me. So ... so, I called the police and told them what I knew. They took me away from her, brought me to a hospital, where they gave me a physical, and found that I had problems with my butt and other things.
"How ... how could I ever forgive my mom for ... for her not caring about me, or giving me good food to eat and then getting involved with hard drugs that had her work for the main source of drugs in this county? Sure it put me into the foster care system, where some of the sexual abuse never stopped, until I came here," revealed Charles, who still had big tears in his eyes.
Matthew again went to his 'brother' to try to console him as best he could. What the two Cover 'brothers' didn't know was that their other 'brothers', and Chief, were standing just outside the bedroom door, but out in the hallway listening. They knew they should have told them they were out there, but now that Charles was crying they all went to Charles and gave him a group hug.
Mr. Wayne came up the stairs looking for the boys. As he walked down the hallway, he heard the boys telling one of their 'brothers' they wouldn't tell anyone of what they just heard.
Mr. Wayne made some noise, so they would know he was out in the hallway. When he found them in Charles' room, they were just coming out of a group hug. The Estate Master told them he was looking for them to go to dinner and for them to wash their hands and meet him in the Kitchen Nook.
When Mr. Wayne went back downstairs he went immediately to his employer, Mr. Ken, and told him what he heard when he went looking for the boys. That caused the boys' 'dad' to ask Wayne in whose room they were. That gave Mr. Ken an idea of who to talk with after dinner.
"Boys, we sure had an exciting day, to say the least," began 'dad' Ken, as they sat in the Study to do their daily meeting after dinner. "Who would have ever thought that on my second adoption we'd have just as much drama as we had with Robert's? I am glad Ms. Judy had a second set of adoption papers, or we might still be there," now chuckled 'dad' Ken.
"Boys, next Friday, we are all staying at the Lakeside Hotel. It is the Grand Opening of the hotel the following Saturday, and I want all of us there. So, make sure you tell your friends that we may not be back here until later in the afternoon. That they should call or text you guys to know when we return.
"There will be a few dignitaries there, so I want you all to wear nice school clothes, so save something nice to wear for the morning. We'll also eat dinner over there Friday night in order to try out the restaurant. They have been open since last weekend in what is known as a 'soft' opening.
"My hotel and restaurant managers are watching their operations for any trouble spots. We decided to let people book rooms early. That was so we can catch any major problems, before we go into full operation. We are also getting the restaurants grills and such broken in. That's so they are well seasoned for when we are fully operational.
"Also, there are about five weeks left before the Cove Skate Park is supposed to be finished. As you know, we are hosting a Grand Opening for that as well, and we are inviting all of your friend's and their families. So, we figure we could have as many as 150 to 175 people here with maybe 60 of them being kids.
"It is supposed to be a three-day weekend as Memorial Day is on Monday. I decided to have the Memorial Day Picnic on Saturday in order to give the families Sunday and Monday to do things with their families. Does anyone see a problem with that scenario?" asked 'dad' Ken.
"What are we going to feed them?" asked Kevin.
"I think we already discussed that, but to remind you I am having my caterer fix hot dogs and hamburgers, along with potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, chili for the dogs, and of course the fixings for the burgers. They'll also bring the sodas and I will have a few cases of beer for the adults," explained 'dad' Ken.
"What will we do if it rains?" asked Kyle.
"Bite your tongue!" quickly replied a laughing Mr. Ken. "Let's all hope and pray that the sun shines bright that day. Oh, the indoor pool will also be open, so that means you and your friends can't use the Women's Locker Room. You'll have to make other arrangements if everyone wants to change at the same time.
"It would be nice if the lake water was warmer, so you could use the water toys, then. But, alas, the water won't warm up until sometime in late June. I do have some wetsuits that you boys can use, but I need to find out which ones fit whom and then buy more if necessary.
"Oh, Bill, I've been so busy I totally forgot that you, Charles and Matthew were supposed to attend the Texas Boater Safety Course. I'm sorry that we didn't plan this better, but things got away from me and I failed to have Mr. Wayne, or Mr. Chris, handle that.
"Mr. Chris did tell me they are having the Course the next four Saturdays, so let's make sure you three go next Saturday. ... Oh, dang, that won't work either as we are going to the hotel's Grand Opening. Wayne, make sure you put this on the calendar for that following Saturday and plan to go with the boys. You'll need the training, too, so why not get it out of the way.
"Mr. Chris said he can make reservations, so make sure we do that first thing Monday when he arrives. With knowing two weeks in advance, we can plan better. Boys that will mean you will be gone from The Cove from about 7:30 in the morning until 6 p.m. Your friends will have to make other plans for that day, so make sure you tell them what you will be doing then."
"'Dad'," began Matthew, "some of my friends ... they want to take that course, too. Can Mr. Chris get them a reservation for that day, too?"
"Yea, dad, a few of my friends want to take that training course too, as we'll all be thirteen and can use the personal watercraft, too," added Charles.
Mr. Wayne was making notes in his cell phone to remind him to get Mr. Chris to make reservations for the three Cover boys and him. He then asked Matthew and Charles how many of his friends want to take the course. Both boys said they weren't sure, but they'd ask them tomorrow.
"Boys, it is getting late. Let's finish our discussion tomorrow night after dinner. Will that be OK with you? So, unless someone has something important to talk about, I want you all to head up to your rooms and relax some before going to bed," announced 'dad' Ken.
As the boys filed out of the Study, new dad Ken asked his son, Charles, to stay back and close the door when all of his 'brothers' were out.
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