Robert didn't want the lunchtime bell to ever ring. He just knew he would get more of the same sort of harassment he received that morning, and he didn't want to hear it, again. He was a victim, but he couldn't tell anyone because he knew he'd get even more harsh insults and innuendo's thrown in his face, if anyone ever heard of what he was made to do.
Eric met Robert prior to entering the lunchroom. They decided they would stick together whenever they could. The two entered the lunchroom, went through the line, got their lunches and then they walked to the area where they usually sat to eat. Robert's other main friends came over and sat down with him and Eric.
As Robert's group ate, Robert was leery about what he figured would soon happen. The thing was, it didn't. What was going on were some mumblings and it was coming from where the 8th grade girls sat. When Robert looked over in that direction, it was what he didn't see that surprised him.
"Hey, guys ... do you see Joanna and ... and any of her followers anywhere in the lunchroom?"; asked Robert.
The boys looked all around and they told Robert they couldn't see Joanna or Kaelyn. Then, one of the boys said he didn't see Skyler, Nora, Sarah or Callie either. That made it very curious to Robert that his six tormentors were nowhere to be seen.
Out in the schoolyard, they heard some talk about the girls, but couldn't verify if it was true. It was then Mr. Chassen came over to the boys and asked Robert to follow him. The two went to the Principal's office. When Robert went in, Ms. Chadwick asked him to have a seat. She told him she wanted to hear what he had to say about what transpired out in the schoolyard before school started. She then asked him to tell her everything that was said to him from the time he arrived at the school, until the first bell rang.
After Robert told Principal Chadwick everything he could remember, she asked him some pointed questions about that morning. When he was finished answering the principal's questions, he was allowed to go back to the schoolyard. The teen caught up with his friends just before the after lunch bell rang
"Guys ... Mr. Chassen took me to see Principal Chadwick. When I got there, she asked me to take a seat. Then, she asked me about what happened this morning with Joanna and her friends. I told her what all the girls said about my parents and me. When she said she had heard enough, she told me I could come back here."
"But you know what I saw when I was leaving? I saw Joanna, Kaelyn, Skyler, and the other girls sitting in another room. But you know who I also saw in there with them? Leah. Leah Hoalmes. I wonder why she'd be in there with them and I wonder if Principal Chadwick is going to do something to all of them for what they said to me?"; finished Robert.
Just then Charles came over to his 'brother' and asked him if he'd seen Leah. Charles told his older 'brother' that Leah had bad mouthed him before the first bell. The pre-teen said he hadn't seen her at lunch, and she wasn't seen out in the schoolyard.
Robert told his younger 'brother' about his meeting with Principal Chadwick and that he saw Leah sitting in there with the girls who had bad mouthed him that morning. Charles now had the same mystery going on as his older 'brother' did.
At 2 PM, Wayne Mitchell stopped by the school to sign Kyle Parchsons out, to take him to his doctor appointment. Ms. Andrews, the school's secretary, and a stickler for most of the Rules, checked the files and told him he couldn't do that as he wasn't authorized. Wayne called Mr. Ken who called Ms. Chadwick who came right out to the office.
"Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Thomas says you have a Power of Attorneys with you that gives you the authority to pick the boys up. Do you have that with you?"; said, Principal Chadwick.
Wayne brought out the original, and the principal looked it over. Then, she told Ms. Andrews to make a copy and add Mr. Mitchell's name to the authorized list for all of Mr. Thomas' boys.
"Thanks for taking me to the doctor's office, Mr. Wayne,"; said Kyle. "It is neat to get taken out of class.";
"This is part of my job, Kyle. Mr. Ken has hired me to fill in for him when he can't be there. He is a very busy man and he can't be everywhere at the same time. Right now, I bet he is working with Mr. Dan to find the people who dropped Matthew off at the miniature golf course, yesterday;" explained Mr. Wayne.
"But, he isn't a detective, Mr. Wayne. Why would he be involved?"; seriously asked Kyle.
"Well, Kyle, Mr. Ken and Mr. Dan went over to Four Corners to check the camera videos last night, right? Your 'dad' has a college minor in computer science, so he is probably working with the camera footage to see what they could find. You know Mr. Ken and Mr. Dan are good friends, so he'll help him wherever he can. Does that answer your question?"; finished Mr. Wayne.
"Yeah, I guess. You know what? I like it when just he and I get to talk alone,"; replied Kyle.
Mr. Wayne smiled at the response and just drove on.
Earlier that afternoon, Sheriff's Detective Lieutenant Brandt Matthias came by The Cove to pick up the merged footage. Mr. Ken wanted to show it to him before he took it, so the detective would know if his work was a non-starter. The two men watched the video Mr. Ken had put together and Lt. Matthias was very impressed. The lieutenant then asked if Mr. Ken could produce certain stills from the footage.
Mr. Ken did his magic at his Study computer and produced photo stills of Matthew getting out of the car, the boy talking to the woman, a closeup of the woman, a picture of the car, and a closeup of the car's license plate. Lt. Matthias thanked Mr. Ken for everything and told him that his help had made his job so much easier.
Mr. Chris saw the Lieutenant walk out the Foyer door, so he decided to stop by the Study to see if Mr. Ken could fill him in on what was going on. After he knocked on the doorframe Mr. Ken asked Mr. Chris to come in and had him take a seat. Twenty minutes later Mr. Chris was totally surprised at what he heard. Mr. Chris told his boss he felt sad for Robert and what he had to endure, but he was very happy Mr. Ken was able to help the police out with their mystery.
Mr. Ken then remembered to ask Chris where he got that key fob for Robert. The owner of the Cove told Mr. Chris that his other 'sons' all wanted one, too. Mr. Ken also said the boy's friends all loved the fob, and they wanted one as well. Chris said he had a friend of his who works in metals make it for him. Chris told his boss the fob was one of a kind.
Mr. Ken asked him if his friend would make a few more for him. Chris asked what he meant 'by a few more' and Mr. Ken told him two dozen, or so. Mr. Chris whistled and said he'd ask his friend and then asked his boss when he would want them. The owner of The Cove said for Christmas. Mr. Chris smiled at hearing that and said he'd call his friend tonight.
Mr. Chris had no sooner left the Study than a smiling Kyle and Mr. Wayne came bounding into the room.
"What has you home so early, sport?"; asked, Mr. Ken.
"The person ahead of me was running late, so they took me in first. They cut the cast off without cutting my arm. That was so neat. Then, they washed my arm. Boy, did it ever stink. I wonder why I couldn't smell that smell. Phew! Then, they took an x-ray and as you can see they put the cast back on. Rats! I go back in three weeks,"; explained Kyle
Mr. Ken laughed at Kyle's account of his doctor's appointment. Kyle then asked his 'dad' if they could go over to see Matthew. 'Dad Ken' asked the twin if he knew if his other 'brothers' wanted to go. Kyle said he didn't know, so Mr. Ken suggested Kyle go get his homework started and when his 'brothers' got back, they'd ask them if they wanted to go. 'Dad Ken' then said if they didn't want to go they would and then Kyle wouldn't have much more, if any, homework to do when they returned. Kyle agreed to that as he hated to do homework late at night.
Mr. Wayne and Mr. Ken talked. Wayne told his boss what Kyle said about him and his 'dad' talking alone. Mr. Ken said that was good to know, so if he and Kyle went to the hospital alone that would give them another good chance to talk. Mr. Ken also told Wayne that he might be called on more and more as time moves on, as he needs to take the twins on their trip and the lads all have appointments with Doctor Jennings.
Mr. Ken explained to Wayne that the boys would start seeing Doctor Doug, every other week, during school hours, so he'd probably be needed to drive them there. Mr. Wayne said that shouldn't be too much of a problem as the semester is almost over.
Just then the rest of the Cover lads arrived at the Study. Mr. Ken looked at the time and realized the day had just moved on without him. He also noticed he hadn't done anything for his business interests, but he did feel good about what he did for Dan and Brandt.
"Hey, dad, did you find anything out about Matthew?"; asked Robert.
"Well, I did go back to Four Corners and checked the video disks a bit closer. I did find some things the Sheriff's Office can use, but it took me almost all morning. What happened at school?"; asked dad.
"Ahh, dad, ahh ... the kids did what you thought they would. But what happened next was at lunchtime. I was taken to the principal's office, and she asked me to tell her what happened before school started. Principal Chadwick wanted me to tell her what was said to me out in the schoolyard. Dad, Ms. Chadwick ... she had all the girls who harassed me, plus the girl who had said stuff to Charles, in a separate room,"; said Robert.
"I guess you'll probably find out tomorrow if they got into trouble. There will be friends of theirs who will talk. Nothing much you can do about that then, is there?"; laughed Mr. Ken. "Oh, Kyle wants to know if any of you are going to the hospital with us.";
All three boys said they weren't and then they headed off to find Momma Maria to get their after-school snack.
Wayne had stayed and listened to what Robert had to say about his morning at school. The man felt sorry for what was said to the teenager. He thanked Mr. Ken for allowing him to stick around to hear the lad's story. His boss told him he needed to start to get to know what the boys were all about and how things affected them.
Wayne again thanked the man and said, as he was going to leave, that he was available and all Mr. Ken had to do was call him. Wayne Mitchell then walked out of the Study, went out to his car and drove home.
"'Dad', I like it when it is just us two together,"; offered Kyle. "I can talk to you about stuff and not have to worry that Kevin will hear. It's not that I don't love my brother, but ... well, he can be a pain at times,"; laughed Kyle.
Kyle and Mr. Ken talked all the way to the hospital. It was obvious to Mr. Ken that Kyle was very upbeat as they walked up to the Information Desk to learn where Matthew was. The piece of information that they did not know was Matthew's last name. The lady at the desk said she couldn't just check for the lad by his first name. Kyle was disappointed they couldn't go see his new friend, Matthew.
Mr. Ken took out his cell phone and made a call. When he was finished, he thanked whoever he'd called and then turned to the lady at the desk. "Can you check if you have a Matthew Toursten?";
The woman did and told them the lad was in the Pediatric Ward, 3rd floor. Kyle knew where that was as that was where he was after he broke his arm. They thanked the lady and went over to the elevators.
"You came!"; called out Matthew, as Kyle and his 'dad' walked into the semi-private room.
"I told you I'd get my 'dad' to bring me over. So, how do you like being in here?"; asked a smiling Kyle.
"Well, they made me take off all my clothes. They told me that was so they could check me ALL over. I was really embarrassed as it was all female nurses that did that. They touched me everywhere, and I had no one there with me. I was scared,"; revealed Matthew.
"Yeah, I guess I should have warned you about that. They did that to me, too, after I broke my arm. I don't know why they did that; it was only my arm that was broken. Anyway, did you sleep pretty good? How about the food? You getting enough to eat?"; asked Kyle in rapid order.
"Well ... I guess I slept pretty good. They woke me up in the middle of the night to take my temperature and check my blood pressure, they told me. Then, real early this morning, they woke me, again, but that time they took some blood, too. But the food is better here than what I've eaten in the past few weeks. Anything would taste better than what my mom and her boyfriend would get for me,"; revealed Matthew.
"I'm sorry to hear that Matthew,"; said Kyle. "Did they do anything for your back? Did they put anything on it to help make it feel better?"; asked a concerned Kyle.
"Yeah, they put something real cool on my back when they brought me up here last night. Then they did it this morning after breakfast and then they put it on again after lunch. I guess they will do it again tonight after dinner,"; replied Matthew.
While the two boys talked, Mr. Ken went out into the corridor and made a phone call. His first call was to his nurse friend, Joanne Kirby. He wanted to ask her about what Matthew and Kyle said happened to them. His next call went to Bill Jackson. He told him what he heard happened to the lad they found at Four Corners the previous night. He followed that up by telling him that Kyle revealed it had happened to him, too, when he was in there five weeks before with his broken arm. That was the first that Bill had heard of Matthew and he asked a few questions about how that happened. Before they hung up, Bill told Ken he'd turn the case over to Stewart as he tended to handle the younger people's cases.
Joanne Kirby came up to the Pediatric Ward to talk to Mr. Ken. She said she never heard of such a procedure unless there was a suspicion of rape or sexual abuse. Hearing that and knowing what Kyle just revealed to him made him mad. He didn't say it, but Joanne saw a look in his eyes that said there was something wrong. She asked him and he told her what they had done to Kyle when he was in for his broken arm.
The two adults went in to talk to the lads. Mr. Ken introduced Nurse Joanne Kirby to the boys and told them how he knew her. Mr. Ken told them she was going to ask them a few questions. Nurse Kirby asked them what the nurses did and where they touched them. Both lads said the nurses checked their butt holes and put something in them and then put it into a long glass tube. Matthew said they checked his boy-parts and didn't use gloves like when they touched his butt.
Kyle told the nurse he had to open his mouth real wide, and they put something in there and then put it in a long glass tube. Matthew agreed that they had done that to him, too. Joanne thanked the boys for talking to her and she and Mr. Ken walked out into the corridor.
"Joanne, did they ever get rid of that nurse, Hazel, something or other, that caused all those problems for me and Collin?"; asked Mr. Ken.
"Her name was Hazel Federer, and she was demoted from Head Charge Nurse. I think she was also sent for some additional training. They never told us what and where, but she was away for some time. Anyway, when she returned, she was relegated to the geriatric ward. You know the floor where the senior's citizens are treated. I haven't heard that name ever since the election when things really began to change around here,"; said Joanne Kirby.
"Joanne, those examinations both the boys went through ... they ... they aren't normal procedures are they?"; directly asked Mr. Ken.
"I can't say for sure, but up on the wards, that type of intrusive examination should have already been performed in the ER. Unless the doctor hadn't taken the time to do those procedures. That did sound very irregular, though, that's for sure, Ken,"; replied Joanne.
"Joanne, I'm going to make some discreet inquiries, so please don't say anything to anyone that I asked you this. OK?"; asked Mr. Ken. "A lawyer, his name is Stewart Russell, might contact you. He will be investigating this for me. I can't let this go without knowing why they did that procedure, and why was it done up on the ward if it was a check for sexual abuse or rape.";
"Ken, I understand, so I won't say anything about this, but what I will do is ... I'm going to check some of the records of other kids and see if they did that same type of exam. That way you'll know if it was an isolated instance, or that it is a non-standard procure that someone decided to do. Personally, I do not think it is called for,"; replied Joanne.
Mr. Ken looked at the time and decided he needed to get Kyle, and get them both home before Momma Maria got mad at them for being late for dinner. Kyle said goodbye to his friend and told him he'd try to visit tomorrow. Matthew was very happy that he had at least one visitor.
At dinner that night, the Cover lads talked about Matthew. Kyle told his 'brothers' how Matthew was doing and how the doctors were treating his back, so it would heal quickly. The lads also asked their 'dad' what he did for Mr. Dan with the camera footage from Four Corners. Mr. Ken explained what he did and the boys were happy he could do that for Mr. Dan.
After dinner, Mr. Ken asked Kyle if he still had homework to get finished. Hearing he had a few assignments still to do 'Dad Ken' told him to get up to his room and get them finished. Reluctantly, Kyle went up to his room, but as he turned to go up the stairs, he asked his 'dad' if he'd take him to visit Matthew tomorrow. Mr. Ken smiled, and that told Kyle his 'dad' would, so he hurried up to finish his homework.
Mr. Ken and the remaining boys went into the Study. 'Dad' Ken wanted to hear more about what was said to Robert at school today. They each got settled in a comfortable chair and then Robert started to tell how his day went. When he finished, Charles told them what Leah Hoalmes said to him. Kevin then told how a few kids started to say something to him and Kyle, but their friends, who were there on Saturday, told them to bug off as they were only going to be there for a short time.
After their talk, the Covers got busy with other things. Robert went up to his room to read while Charles and Kevin played a game. Mr. Ken used the time to check on some reports he'd received, but had ignored that afternoon.
Kyle came down to the Study to talk to Mr. Ken after he'd finished his homework. He wanted to ask about Matthew, and if he knew what was going to happen to him. Mr. Ken told the twin that Ms. Judy will eventually find a good foster home for him, like she had for him and his twin. Kyle then asked if they could write to one another and for that question Mr. Ken had no idea.
The owner of The Cove said he'd have to talk to Ms. Judy after Matthew was settled. Kyle thanked him for answering him. He also told him he enjoyed their drive to and from the hospital and, with a smile on his face, that it was fun he had him all to himself. The two hugged and Mr. Ken sent Kyle up to his room to get ready for bed.
'Dad' Ken checked on the boys' right before bedtime. He hugged them, told them to have sweet dreams, and he'd see them in the morning.
At breakfast the next morning, Mr. Ken reminded the boys that Doctor Doug wouldn't be there tonight and they needed to have their lists ready, so they could have their talk after dinner. The boys thanked him for telling them that.
At school that morning, Robert heard the rumors that concerned the girls Principal Chadwick called to her office yesterday morning. The rumor was someone saw Kaelyn, Leah, Skylar, Callie, Nora and Joanna out front with their parents. They also said Joanna had another person with her that was probably her lawyer with them. The first bell rang and everyone had to go into their homerooms.
At lunch that day, Skylar, Callie and Nora were in the lunchroom, but the other girls weren't. The rumor going around the lunchroom, and then outside in the schoolyard, was that Joanna, Kaelyn and Leah were all given a three-day suspension.
One of Joanna's friends told a friend, who told another friend, who told another, and before anyone knew it, everyone learned that Ms. Chadwick had an audio recording of what the girls had said to Robert and Charles out in the schoolyard yesterday. The rumor had her playing them for the girl's parents. The girls claimed that wasn't them, but Ms. Chadwick said she had a witness who had taken the recording.
The rumor continued to say that the three girls were told that one more bullying episode, like that one, and they would be sent to the alternative school for the rest of the semester, or the rest of the school year if the infraction deserves that sort of punishment.
As the rumor got around the school, some of the 8th-grade boys and girls, who had made fun of Robert and his parents, came over to him and apologized to him. They all said they believed what Joanna and Kaelyn told them, but they never knew they were going to go as far as they did and say what they had.
Eric reminded them that Mr. Ken invited them over to The Cove for a New Year's Eve celebration and also had them over for their 13th Birthday party. Eric continued and told them that Robert was now his son and anything The Cove does means Robert is involved and they shouldn't burn their bridges. The 8th graders talked amongst themselves and they said they now understood what he meant.
Mr. Ken heard from Lt Matthias that afternoon. The detective said they were all now on the lookout for the occupants of the car, and the vehicle. The lieutenant told him his help made that all possible and that, thanks to him, the Sheriff's Deputies all had the description of the car and its tag number to use to find the vehicle. The lieutenant also said that thanks to him, they all had a picture of the woman on their car laptops that they'll be able to use to identify the people of interest. Hearing that made Mr. Ken very happy.
Mr. Ken made phone calls to his business concerns and to the supervisors at his new hotel and office buildings now under construction. He was happy to hear about the progress at the construction sites and that his business interests were doing well.
The owner of The Cove also called Stewart Russell to tell him what he thought about what he heard at the hospital last night. He told Stew to talk to Joanne Kirby, as she was going to check some records of previous pediatric ward patients to see if that was done deliberately, or as a standard policy, or what.
Stewart told the man that this sounded like it would be a long drawn out investigation. Upon hearing that, Mr. Ken told him to hire Jules Diamond to do the background work if there looks like there was something nefarious going on.
Mr. Chris stopped by to talk to Mr. Ken about the van he was supposed to buy for The Cove. Mr. Chris told his boss that he was just called and was told there was a Mercedes Sprinter Passenger Van that a customer ordered, but didn't take possession of, so they were offering it to it to him if he wanted it.
Mr. Ken asked if it had all the bells and whistles he wanted and his Estate Manager told him it had. Mr. Ken said to buy it as he saw the need, more and more, for a larger van there at the Cove. Mr. Ken reminded his employee to use the Lincoln Navigator as a trade in, and to try get the best trade-in he could.
When the lads returned home from school, they rushed to the Study.
"Dad, dad,"; called Robert as he ran to the Study.
"Dad, the girls, Joanna, Kaelyn and Leah ... they all got suspended. They were all there with their parents this morning and Joanna, she also brought her lawyer. Skylar, Callie and Nora were there, too, with their parents. Dad, the rumor was that the three girls got a 3-day suspension and were told if they get caught doing any more bullying they'd be sent to the alternative school."
"Dad, the other three girls ... they all just got warnings. I also heard Principal Chadwick had actual recordings of what they said to me and Charles. I guess there is justice after all! I wonder who recorded them saying what they did?"; finished Robert.
"Boys, that is interesting that someone thought enough about what they heard, that they went ahead and recorded it. I'd say that Robert and Charles have someone who looks after them at school. Well, at least that is over, for now,"; offered Mr. Ken.
"What do you mean 'for now'?"; asked Charles.
"Well, Charles ... last year some girls in Robert's class took matters into their own hands and Logan wound up in the hospital, twice, if I recall. If my recollection is right, my bet is these girls will try to cause some more trouble in the future. Girls at this age are very headstrong and go after what they want and will do almost anything to get it. Robert found that out at the Lakeside Water Park when a girl had her boyfriend attack Logan and Robert,"; explained Mr. Ken.
"Yeah, now I remember, Robert told us about that,"; said Charles.
"'Dad' are we going over to visit Matthew?"; asked Kyle.
While Mr. Ken and Kyle went over to the hospital to visit Matthew, the other three Cover lads went and got their after-school snacks. After they finished their snack and thanked Momma Maria, they went up to their rooms to start their homework. On their way to the Hospital, Kyle again enjoyed having private time with his 'dad'.
Matthew was happy to see Kyle when the twin came into his room. The two hugged like they were old friends. The two talked about what they did during the summer and what they were going to do. Kyle told Matthew that they hoped they could stay in touch after he gets placed in a foster home.
Matthew asked Kyle if he'd get into as good a foster home as he had. Kyle said they were lucky Mr. Ken took them in as being twins, they were told it was difficult to find foster families who would take in two kids at the same time. The younger twin continued and told Matthew that foster parents usually won't take kids right at the start of school.
Kyle also told his new friend that he had Ms. Judy as his caseworker, and she would make sure he got into a real good home. Matthew asked him how he knew she would. Kyle told him that Ms. Judy was the leader of the CPS. Mr. Ken stepped in and said that Ms. Judy was actually the Director of CPS. That put a smile on the lad's face.
After Dinner that night, Kyle had to head up to his room to do his homework, while the other boys got to talk to Mr. Ken. Kyle wasn't too upset they got to do that, even though it was Tuesday night, and that was when they would talk about their 'Lists'.
The boys didn't have all that much on their Lists. Kevin just asked about their trip. Mr. Ken put it back on him and asked him if he'd ever checked the internet to look for something in Texas where he and his brother would like to go. Kevin said a subdued 'No'.
Charles asked, with a cheeky grin, how he could feel better about being the 'middle' 'son'. Robert laughed at hearing that, as he knew exactly what he was talking about. 'Dad' Ken sort of chuckled and Kevin wasn't sure if he knew what the pre-teen meant, so he asked.
"Charles, the only way you can be noticed is to be noticeable. Right now, the twins are taking up my time with the investigation of their dad, and then, of course, there was the attempted kidnapping. Yes, you were there too, but they weren't after you as much as the twins and Robert."
"Mr. Parchsons was the man I met when I was younger, wasn't he, dad?"; asked Robert.
"Yes, I'd say so, son. Detective Carrier told me that one of the men, who tried to kidnap the twins, told him Parker Parchsons was definitely wanting you, along with the twins. He knew you could identify him. But what he didn't know was ... you weren't sure. Now, I'd say, you are,"; replied the teen's dad.
"Do you have anything you want to talk about tonight, son?"; smiled dad Ken.
"Not really, dad. It's just ... those girls ... why are they picking on me? It started back when I arrived here and ...and even Charles has been singled out by a girl in his class. We didn't do anything to them, dad, but they sure are trying to make our lives a bit uneasy,"; answered Robert.
"Son, it could be that you represent a change in their status. Upon your arrival, you became an unknown entity. My bet is they tried to get you to think their way, but you joined in with your friends instead and that made you a target. Or, it could be that these girls come from 'money' and you represented more money than they had, because you were associated with Three Finger Cove and me. Who knows why girls, or women, think the way they do."
"Your older 'brothers', Collin and Ryan, they found that out during my first Christmas here. I let them listen in on the phone calls I had with some of the women I went to college with, when I tried to invite them to the New Year's Eve Party. Some of them came right out and told me they were out looking for men with money."
"What they didn't know was ... I owned The Cove. One of the three I did ask to be my guest at the New Year's Eve Parties, a woman named Janice, was actually there at the Party, anyway, as a guest. Boy was she ever pissed when she found out that I owned The Cove after telling me she was looking for a well-connected and wealthy man like me,"; laughed Mr. Ken.
"Well, dad, now that you mentioned the Holiday Parties, can we talk about what we'll do and when will they be,"; spoke up Robert.
Mr. Ken got his cell phone out and looked at the calendar. He studied the date and then said something under his breath. The boys asked him what he said, but he just continued to study the calendar.
"Boys ... Christmas in on a Friday this year. So, I would like to have the Christmas Parties the weekend before. That means the community Christmas Party will be on Friday the 18th. That also means the main Christmas Party will be Saturday the 19th. When we get back from our Thanksgiving at Collin's, we will all be busy getting ready."
"We'll get you your suits, shirts, ties, shoes and socks, and after that we'll need to sit down and talk about who will be at the Christmas Parties. Then we will have to decide who will be at the two New Year's Eve Parties. Last year I had invited Eric and his classmates. With four of you, I can't fathom inviting all three classes of your classmates. We're going to have to figure out who we'll invite to that party,"; explained 'dad' Ken.
Kyle came down to the Great Room just as 'dad' Ken mentioned they had to figure out who they would invite to the party. He didn't know what party they were talking about, so he asked. Kevin told him it was the New Year's Eve Party, and they had to decide whom they would invite. Kyle sat down and asked how many kids they can invite. That started a new conversation. Mr. Ken said they now had a task to perform. How many people could they invite and who would they be?
The man called their Tuesday Meeting a success and over. He then walked up to his Study.
The four boys stayed there in the Great Room talking about the task Mr. Ken just gave them. Robert took out his cell phone and called Eric. The two talked about last year's New Year's Eve Party and Robert told Eric why he was calling. Eric told him there were between 75 and 80 kids there, but that the garage and parking corral could easily handle up to 100, or maybe even 125. Eric also told his Best Friend that he got to help pick the band that played that night, so they should consider that part of the task.
The Cover boys now knew they had lots to consider between them, and they'd have to do it right after their return from Collin's for Thanksgiving. They all had big smiles on their faces.
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