Three Finger Cove: Billy ~ Book Six

With dinner over and while the Covers were eating dessert, Robert looked at his watch and then reminded everyone that the audience participation event, Hasbro: The Game Show would soon start. He appealed to everyone that it was something they all could do as a 'family', and hopefully one of them could be picked to play.

The teen asked everyone to hurry up and finish their dessert, so they could head over to the theater in order for them to find nine seats together. Everyone could tell the teenager wanted them all to watch the show together, and see what it was all about.

They were able to get nine seats together close to the stage. They also arrived early enough that the adults could order their adult beverages', so they could enjoy them during the show. Of the nine cruisers, Robert was the most animated about the Show. The remaining Covers all felt the teen wanted to be picked, which was why he wanted everyone there.

Suddenly, two game show hosts came out and started to rev up the audience and explain the rules to them. Then, the Games' Master of Ceremonies (MC), came out, made a few jokes and explained how he would select the participants from the audience. He told them to jump up and raise their hand if they knew the answer, but not to call it out until he called on them. The game was then on.

They played a game of Scattergories, where a question was shown on the side screens and the MC would reveal a letter that the audience had to use to answer the question. All the Cover boys jumped up and raised their hands when the letter was revealed, but Robert jumped and bounced up higher than any of his 'brothers'.

The moderator saw the large group of boys and figured they were cousins all on the cruise together, but on the first question he decided not to choose any of them. Even on the second question he again saw all the boys jump up and wave their hands to be picked. They were all disappointed when none of them were picked.

On the third question all of the boys knew an answer, but some decided they'd never be picked, since the man ignored them twice already. But the twins, as well as Matthew, were now enthusiastic about being selected.

The first Hasbro game that would be played was a larger version of Connect Four. In the ship's version of the game, they used soccer-sized balls instead of large plastic chips they would throw into the game board. The young Cover boys figured they could do that, as well as anyone else.

With the Scattergory question flashed up on the screen, the MC slowly looked out on the audience. He pointed out to the people in the back, and then to the side who had jumped up and were waving their hands. Then, before the Covers knew it the man stopped, and pointed to Kevin and called him over to the steps leading to the stage.

The Cover boys went ballistic over Kevin being picked. They made so much noise the moderator had to calm them down before he could even ask Kevin who he was and where he was from. The rest of the crowd had a good laugh over the exuberance of all the other boys.

"What's your name and where are you from?" asked the MC.

"My name is Kevin and I'm from Texas," announced Kevin, to a loud applause, mostly from his 'brothers'.

"I see you're here with a big group of boys. Are you all cousins cruising together?" asked the man.

"No. They are all my 'brothers'," proudly proclaimed the older twin.

"They are all your brothers?" asked the incredulous facilitator.

"They're not all my real 'brothers'. Only Kyle is my real brother and twin. The rest are my foster 'brothers'. We all live with our 'dad', Mr. Ken," enthusiastically declared Kevin.

"So, who are the other gentlemen with your group? Are they your uncles?" asked the announcer.

"No. Mr. Wayne is our 'dad's' Estate Master and Mr. Dan is a Sheriff's Lieutenant," replied Kevin.

"I am sure there is an interesting story there, Kevin. OK, be careful going up the stairs, while I choose the last member of your team," said the moderator.

When both teams were chosen, the MC selected Kevin's team, the Blue Team, to go first. Each person of each team would shoot a ball into the game board, and the first team to get four in a row would win. Kevin was the third person on his team to shoot a ball, and when he took his turn it made three in a row. Unfortunately, the Red Team's third player blocked them.

The game went back and forth as each team was able to have each of their members shoot twice. But, when a team member didn't get the ball into the Game Board, because it bounced out of the game board, it would give the other team a distinct advantage. When Kevin took his third turn, he had two ways to win the game.

Out in the audience, his 'brothers' were loud and boisterous and yelled to him which slot he should try to throw the ball towards. Kevin looked back at his 'brothers' and smiled at them and then the twin threw the ball. The blue ball bounced around on the top of the Board before finally falling onto the right slot that did win the game for his team.

The Cover boys went ballistic jumping up and down when their 'brother' won the game for his team. The MC thanked the Red Team and presented them each with a Hasbro travel game of their own.

The announcer had each member of the Blue Team select a game card that represented a different aspect of the game of Monopoly. The man further explained that at the end of the next game the person who had the highest dollar amount on his game piece would win a tremendous Hasbro game package. Kevin chose the Battleship.

As the Blue team was sent to wait for the second game to play, Kyle ran to his brother and hugged him and told him how proud he was of him. It soon got crowded in the small space the Blue team was sent to sit and wait as the rest of the Cover boys had to congratulate their 'brother'.

It took another 30 to 35 minutes for the second game's participants to be selected and their game, a cubed version of Simon, to finish. Then, both teams were brought up on the stage where each winning team member put their board game card into a machine that revealed what the card was worth.

The Blue Team went first and since Kevin was the third member selected, he put his card into the funny contraption third. His card was worth $30,000.00, so he got to stand in the 'winners' circle, as the remaining members of both teams saw what their card was worth.

When there was only one person left to have their card's worth revealed, the moderator made a big deal that one of the two, they or Kevin, would be the Grand Prize winner of over $150.00 worth of Hasbro games. The MC had both kids stand together, while the last card was placed into the device.

The last person had to beat $30,000.00 and everyone in the audience watched as the numbers ran up on the meter. The Cover boys kept yelling for the numbers to stop, but as they did the meter inched closer, but albite slower, to Kevin's high score. Then, to the Cover boys' chagrin, the meter registered $30500.00 beating Kevin's score by a mere $500.00.

A loud 'Ahhhhhhh' came from the Cover's area, when they saw the other person's card beat Kevin's. But the boys were still happy for their 'brother' who'd won a Hasbro mini-travel game of Connect 4. As the theater emptied, all nine Covers huddled together and talked to Kevin about his experience.

Mr. Ken was the proudest of his 'son', and showed the oldest twin by giving him a great big hug. The MC saw the hug, and the large group standing together, so he stopped to talk to them. He was curious as to why there were three adults with six boys who Kevin called his 'brothers'.

The moderator approached Mr. Ken and said, "Hi there ... ahh, I'm sorry to bother you, but ... well Kevin raised my curiosity when he called all the boys his brothers, and then clarified himself that they were his foster brothers. Can I ask the question? Ahhh, how did that all come about?"

Mr. Ken gave the man the Reader's Digest version of how five of the boys came to him, that Robert was now his adopted son, and that Eric was considered his 'little bro'. That caused another question to be asked, but Mr. Ken told the man it would take the rest of the cruise to explain it all. The moderator did get the three men's names and room numbers and then thanked them for talking to him.

The boys asked what they were going to do next, so 'dad' Ken looked at his watch and saw it was going on 9 p.m. and told the boys they had until 10 to have some fun. He reminded them they had another excursion scheduled for the morning at Mahogany Bay, and they needed to be back in their rooms at the appointed time. The boys hurriedly scurried off to points unknown, while the men sought out a bar to have some adult beverages.

That was the fourth night the four foster boys were staying with Mr. Dan or Mr. Wayne. They were already used to being seen in their boxer briefs and t-shirts by them, so they didn't hesitate to strip down to that and use the bathroom before getting into bed.

The two adults were getting used to seeing the boys in their usual sleepwear, but they hadn't been so forth coming as to allow the boys to see them that way. Although, the boys did see the men in their boxers as they changed for dinner, they hadn't seen either of them naked in any way.

The ship arrived at Mahogany Bay at 8:15 the next morning. Mr. Ken had reserved the Ultimate Beach Package for the Covers, so they ate a light breakfast before heading out to their excursion.

The Covers learned there were only two ways to get to the beach; you either walked the almost one mile trek from the ship, or took the Magical Flying Beach Chair, which was a ski lift retrofitted for the task. The Covers had the latter in their excursion package, so they took that.

The Covers waited for each of them to get off the chair lift before walking over to the secluded bay area where they would start their excursion. There they could take out a two-person kayak, jump on a stand-up paddle-board, or a two-person water bike, and enjoy the crystal blue waters.

"Charles and I will take out a kayak," announced 'dad' Ken, when they arrived at the dock. He did that to fend off any bickering amongst the boys who wanted to go out with him. Charles had a great big smile on his face, when he heard the pronouncement. He hugged his 'dad' after hearing he would be going out with the man

Mr. Wayne chose Kevin to go with him and Mr. Dan chose Eric to go with him. That left Robert, Kyle and Matthew to decide who'd go with whom. But Robert quickly spoke up and said he wanted to try the stand-up paddleboard. All Kyle and Matthew had to do was select the kayak, separate paddleboards, or the two-person water-bike. They chose the water-bike.

The Covers had their conveyances for an hour, but the adults switched off boys after about 30 minutes. That was so they could give a different Cover lad the chance to be with someone else. Eric and Kevin decided to try the water-bike while Charles decided on the paddleboard. He saw his older 'brother' do it, and figured if Robert could do it then he probably could, as well.

When that aspect of their excursion was over, the Covers had the opportunity to snorkel in the small bay. They did that, too, but after doing it already in a much better location they opted out after about twenty minutes. The group of nine had one more selection to make from the Ultimate Beach Package.

The Covers could choose to relax on a beach float in the water, or under the shade of a clamshell cover. After some discussion, the boys decided to get only one beach float, and share it, and let the adults have two clam shell covers for the shade to lay in and relax.

Mahogany Bay turned out to be a great place to get some sun, and after their initial excursions all nine swam and shared the two clamshell covers, they had. They had until 5:30 to be back on board the ship, so they took advantage of the closeness to the ship and swam and played hard. When they returned to their cabins, they were all ready for a nap.

Mr. Ken had a different idea. He mentioned it was dinnertime, and they all needed to eat. He added that they had all night to rest and then they could all sleep in the next morning. The man also wanted everyone to enjoy the evening show together, and then do whatever they could do afterwards for fun.

By the end of that evening all nine Covers were ready for some R&R. They had been going almost wall-to-wall since they boarded the ship four and a half days ago, and they all needed some time to catch up on their sleep and just sit back and relax.

At the start of their second sea-day, which was actually day five of their cruise, none of the Cover boys were out of bed before 10 a.m. All of the boys just lay there soaking up all the 'Zzzzz's' they could.

The adults, though, were up and out on the balcony by 9:30 a.m. talking about where they wanted to go to breakfast. They decided to try the Sea-Day Brunch in the dining room, at the back of the ship. They finished getting dressed and met out in the hallway, to walk to their meal.

It was a little past 10 a.m. that same morning when a few of the boys were awakened by their extended bladders. They drained their dragons and then woke up their 'brothers'. They all met on the balconies and asked each other if they knew where their 'dad' or Mr. Dan and Mr. Wayne were.

Robert texted his dad, learned where they were and asked his 'brothers' if they wanted to try the Sea-Day Brunch, or just go to the regular breakfast buffet on the Lido deck. They all chose to go to the Brunch. But they had to finish getting dressed first. Then, before they knew it they arrived at the dining room at 11 a.m., long after their 'dad' and his companions had.

"Did you wait for us?" asked Kevin, as the boys walked up to the men's table.

"Well, we've probably drank ten cups of coffee while we waited for you six," teased Mr. Dan.

"Between the three of you that's only three cups each and one extra for our 'dad'," said Charles, with a grin on his face.

The adults were at the Brunch early enough they were able to get a table for the nine of them. The waiters brought them a large menu board for them to use to select what they wanted to eat for breakfast. The boys had a difficult time trying to decide what they wanted, as some of the options weren't anything like what Momma Maria would offer them.

The adults explained to the boys how they could order an omelet with as many different add-ins they wanted. Or, a filet mignon steak with eggs done whichever way they wanted. The boys were still overwhelmed with all the different choices. Eventually, they all ordered something and decided they would share, or order something different if they didn't like it.

The waiter stood patiently by waiting for the nine people to order. When he heard the boys mention they could order something different, if they didn't like what they had, the man spoke up and told them they needed to order everything at one time, including any desert, as that was how they did the Sea Day Brunch.

The boys all laughed and told the waiter they'd go with their first selection, and if they were still hungry, they would go up to the Lido for something different. The waiter smiled and the men laughed. The Covers sat back and waited for their meal to be brought out.

"Boys," began 'dad' Ken, "tell me ... how does the food on the ship compares with Momma Maria's?"

The boys looked back and forth to one another, but it was Kevin who spoke up first.

"'Dad', I don't think there is any comparison to Momma Maria's. She's never made us lobster with that clear butter stuff, or moist and juicy prime rib, or shrimp cocktail with that yummy and tangy red sauce. And, she doesn't have pizza ready for us to eat all day long, like they do here on the ship," began to explain the older twin.

The adults and the boys all waited to hear Kevin's final pronouncement. The older twin had selected all of the foods they all loved, at first bite, and Momma hadn't served any of them as of yet. They just didn't know what the young Cover would say, as he was prone to stay in the background and not say much.

"So ... I'd have to say ... that having the food on this ship is ... NOTHING, compared to what Momma Maria serves us. I can't wait to get home to her cooking!" smiled Kevin, as the rest of the Covers applauded and patted him on his back.

"You had me scared there for a moment, Kevin," spoke 'dad' Ken. "I wasn't sure if I'd be able to take you home if you loved the ship's food better than Momma's." Then 'dad' Ken hugged the boy, who melted into the close contact, not having had much from his real parents who were both awaiting trial.

"What do you have planned for today?" asked Mr. Dan.

"Well ... our 'dad' ... he hasn't done very much with us ... well, on board the ship that is," finished Charles, as he clarified himself

"Yea, dad," spoke up Robert. "Mr. Wayne did the Ropes Course with Kevin and Mathew, but you haven't with any of us, and neither has Mr. Dan. We want you to do that with us, and play miniature golf, too."

Mr. Ken looked at the other two adults first, before answering. Knowing he needed to do some things on board the ship with his boys, he looked over the boys and smiled. He then told them he'd do the ropes course with them, after they finished their breakfast.

With breakfast finished, the Covers headed over to the Ropes Course, but when they got there Mr. Wayne stayed back down under the obstacles. When asked why, he told them he was going to take pictures of them while they were high up on the course. Eric then told his 'brothers' he'd seen the Estate Master taking pictures during all of the excursions, too, so they'd probably have lots of pictures to look through when they'd get back home.

"Matthew and Kevin are going to lead us across the different obstacles, since they've already done it once. Then, we're going to go in age order," announced 'dad' Ken. "Mr. Dan will go after Robert and Eric and I will bring up the rear. Now let's get started."

As there were two courses side-by-side, Robert took the right side while Eric started the left ropes challenge after Matthew and Kevin had gotten to the next set of challenges. There were no two challenges the same, so no Cover could gain any advantage by watching the person across from them. Once the two teens reached their next task, Mr. Dan and Charles were next, followed by Kyle and Mr. Ken.

The ropes course obstacles the Covers had to transit included simple 2 x 4 boards spread out at angles to the platform, rope bridges, swinging steps, and narrow beams. There were unique single or double wires, a cargo net, a series of uneven boards stitched on angles, guide wires that crossed at the middle of the task, and much, much more. The boys did all that while traversing the suspended challenges while also taking in the breathtaking views to the sea 150 feet below.

Lucky for the participants they wore a harness attached to a guide wire above them and if they ever took a wrong step, and fell, the harness kept them safe and they could easily reset themselves on their task.

Everyone went through the course twice. That was so they each had the same experiences with all 20 obstacles on the ropes course pathway. They laughed at one another when they had a difficult time getting across the chasm between pillars. And, they laughed when any one of them fell and screamed. All the Covers had fun and Mr. Wayne caught most of it on his camera. The man not only took pictures, but videos as well.

Later that day, while the Covers were swimming and having fun at the beach pool area, it was announced they were looking for men to compete in the Hairy Chest Contest. Kyle tried to get Mr. Dan to compete, telling him he had a lot of hair on his chest.

The Sheriff's Lieutenant begged off telling the youngster that he didn't want to look like a fool and have Mr. Wayne capture it on video. All the Covers heard the exchange and laughed at what Mr. Dan said.

The Covers watched the contest and couldn't believe what they saw. The men had to dance their way down the stairs making it look as sexy as possible, and then let women chosen to be the judges to touch them and more as they were eliminated one by one.

The men did that all to try to win a plastic trophy, that was affectionately called 'A Ship on a Stick'. The Cover boys, as well as Mr. Dan, were glad their police friend declined Kyle's request to make a fool of himself.

The Covers played some miniature golf before Mr. Ken told the boys it was time for him, Mr. Dan and Mr. Wayne to have some down time for themselves and a few adult beverages. The boys got the hint, and told the men they'd see them at the cabin before they headed out to dinner.

When Mr. Ken returned to his cabin that afternoon, he found an envelope with his name on it waiting for him. He opened it to find an invitation from the ship's captain, for him and his entire entourage to visit him on the bridge.

The ship's captain apologized for the lateness of the invitation, and hoped they could visit him sometime the following morning. All Mr. Ken had to do was coordinate with his first officer. There was a listed number for him to call.

Before the group went to dinner, Mr. Ken gathered them in his cabin and told them about the invitation. He asked for their input and, before they departed for dinner, the owner of The Cove called the number and arranged for them to meet the captain at 10 a.m. the following morning. Their last Sea-Day.

The Covers ate in the Main Dining Room that night. They talked about their cruise, so far, and what they planned to do the next day. 'Dad' Ken reminded them they needed to be up and dressed to meet with the Captain at 10. The man told them to wear clean shorts and a polo shirt, to their meeting. He added that since it wasn't lunchtime, they should eat something before they visit with the Captain, and to plan accordingly.

When the Covers left the dinner table, some of them were headed to their camps to check on what was going on there. Others planned to watch the Dive-In Movie at 7:30. The adults went looking for a nice quiet bar to have some refreshing adult drinks, and talk about the next few days.

The next morning, about ten minutes before their scheduled meeting with the ship's Captain, the Covers walked up to the entrance door to the bridge. The First Officer waited there for them, and opened the door allowing them to enter.

Captain Stefano Battinelli waited just inside the entrance, and, as the Covers walked in, he greeted them with a warm handshake.

"Welcome, my new friends to the bridge of the Carnival Breeze," said Captain Stefano, in an Italian accent. "Let me show you around some before we talk."

As the Covers walked and listened to the Captain explain the different parts of the bridge, Mr. Wayne was taking pictures. The First Officer saw what the man was doing. He nudged him and whispered to him not to take pictures of the operating controls, but otherwise it was okay.

After Captain Battinelli finished his tour, he invited the group into his conference room where he had some coffee, breakfast juices and the little breakfast desserts that were usually out on the buffet.

"I remember being inside something similar to this one time. No, twice," remarked Ken Thomas.

"Yes, I am sure you have," chuckled Captain Stefano.

"My friend Captain Bill, whom you know is a Disney Captain, told me an intriguing story at one of our Captain's get togethers. He told us about a man ... whom he called Mr. Ken and his foster son, Collin, I believe it was. Then, recently, he told me about that same named man and two boys he was traveling with just last year and the problems they had on his ship. I take it you are that same man, Mr. Ken? Ahh, Mr. Thomas."

"Guilty as charged, Captain. How, may I ask, do you know Captain Bill?" replied Ken Thomas.

"We Captain's often meet in our ports of call, or at the annual meetings of cruise ship captains. Captain Bill, as you call him, told us about your troubles with a few men who you thought were going to try to kidnap Collin.

"Then, just this last summer, when we met at our same port of call, he told me about you and your two charges and how a woman was trying to charge you with doing untoward things with those two boys. Are they with you now?" asked the Breeze's captain.

Robert and Eric held up their hands, and told the man they were on the Disney Magic last Spring Break with Mr. Ken. They told their story about the woman who tried to cause trouble for their 'dad' and the Davies'. They then proceeded to tell the man how they saw what happened.

"Mr. Thomas, when the Cruise Director met you after the Hasbro show he had no idea who you were. But, your story of having six foster sons with you intrigued him, and he brought the story to me. He figured I'd want to meet you, and the boys, and get some publicity shots of us together.

"The man had a picture of all of you and when he showed it to me I decided to fax it to Captain Bill. He immediately confirmed who you were, and he encouraged me to meet all of you. Mr. Ken it is a pleasure to meet you after what Bill had to say about you and Collin, and then those other two.

"The story Bill told us a few years back was hard to believe, but the details he had indicated to me, it was more than an exaggeration. So, with you being on my ship I just had to meet you. You are someone people should emulate, and now knowing you have six boys makes me envious of you. I only have two boys myself," smiled the Captain.

Mr. Ken took the time to give the Captain the Reader's Digest version of how he came to be the foster dad to five of the boys, and then adopted one and how Eric was his 'little brother'. He also gave the highlights of his cruise with Collin, and then with Robert and Eric.

The Covers meeting with the Captain lasted two hours. They talked about the Disney cruises and then compared them to what they experienced on the Breeze. The First Officer took the boys out to the bridge, and showed them more of how they operated the entire ship from there.

It was while they boys were looking around that Robert and Eric dared their 'brothers' to stand on the glass window that looked down to the sea. The First Officer, and the bridge officers, being close by, heard the challenge and snickered, knowing what that was all about.

Kevin and Kyle said they weren't going to stand on the window, until their older 'brothers' did. Charles was a bit skeptical and figured there was some sort of trick involved, but he too wouldn't stand, or even walk, on the window. Matthew saw the smile in Robert's and Eric's faces, as they challenged everyone, so he decided to do it.

"So ... what is it about the window?" asked Matthew, as he walked onto the glass. "I'm standing on it and nothing happened. Maybe it's because I only weigh about 80 pounds? You all try it!"

The other four boys did walk on the glass and they asked their guide what it was made of. The First Officer answered their question and explained the floor window was almost two inches thick and they used it to help them when docking the ship.

It was twelve noon when Mr. Ken told the Captain the man had better things to do than talk to just a few of his passengers. The Captain asked them to stay while he gave the noon report to the passengers and crew. When that was over, all the Covers thanked the Captain for the extended bridge tour, and then headed off to lunch.

The Covers headed to the buffet and sat together to talk about the Captain's private tour. The boys were very animated in their conversation, saying how much they loved hearing the stories about what happened on the two Disney cruises.

Before the Covers headed off in different directions, Robert told them there was a family game at 3 p.m. on the Lido deck, and thought it would be fun for them to compete. He added that since there were nine of them they could maybe have two teams.

The teenager lobbied hard for everyone to be at the Beach Pool at the appointed time. No one committed themselves to being there, but said they'd watch the time and try to join him and form the two teams.

The day was hot, as the sun was shining down on the exposed upper decks. After eating, the Covers knew they all had to go back to their cabins and change into their swimsuits. The adults stopped for an adult drink to allow the boys to change without being embarrassed by them being in the room, at the same time.

About three that afternoon Robert texted all the Covers and reminded them about the Family games and asked them all to be there. All the boys were already there, as that was where the Beach Pool was, which was full. While the boys waited for the adult Covers to show up, they heard the announcement for the teams of four to come to the end of the pool and sign up.

Robert and Eric had already decided who would be on which of the two Cover teams, so they went and got at the back of the short line. When it came time to tell the announcer who was the adult on their team they told them Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne.

The Cover adults arrived just as the MC was explaining the Rules of the game. Two people held a towel onto which one other team member placed a small toy fish. The two towel holders then had to pull or stretch the towel and use it to throw the fish to the fourth member stationed about fifteen feet away. That member then had to catch the fish, in a clear rectangular plastic box. The two teams with the most catches would advance to the next round.

Five teams competed. The first Cover team consisted of Mr. Ken, Eric, Charles and Matthew who tried their luck first. They were able to throw and catch eight fishes. Being the first team, and the way they worked together, showed the other four teams what they had to do.

The second team only caught six toy fishes as they had trouble using the towel to throw the plastic toy fishes far enough for their teammate to catch them.

The second Cover team consisting of Mr. Dan, instead of Mr. Wayne, who wanted to get pictures and video of the event, Robert, Kevin and his twin Kyle went third. Mr. Dan had Kevin paired up with him to use the towel. Kyle placed the fishes on the towel while Robert was the catcher. Their team caught nine toy fishes.

The fourth team caught seven toy fishes, as did the fifth team. Those two teams and the second team were eliminated from the next game to determine the winner.

Now it was going to be a Cover team versus a Cover Team to see who would win the 'Ship on a Stick'. This time the team had two members wheelbarrow walk the other one to the towel full of plastic toy fish. There they had to place a fish under their chin and wheelbarrow walk back to the rectangular plastic box, and drop it into it without touching it. Then, the other two members had to do that. Each team had five minutes to get as many fishes to the plastic box as they could.

The announcer flipped a coin to determine which team went first. Mr. Dan's team lost the flip and thus they had to try their luck at the game before Mr. Ken's team. Mr. Dan had to decide which two members of his team would team-up together. After talking it over with his team members the tandem teams would be he and Robert and then Kevin with Kyle.

Mr. Ken and his team members closely watched how their competition wheelbarrow walked the fifteen feet, get a fish, and then get their fishes back to the rectangular plastic box. Mr. Dan held Robert's feet as the man hand walked the teen to the towel full of fishes and placed one under his chin. Then, the two walked back to the box, so Robert could drop the fish into it. As soon as that was done, the twins set out to mirror their teammates.

Kevin held Kyle's feet and the younger twin walked to the towel and placed a fish under his chin. As Kevin walked his brother back, the fish came dislodged and they had to stop as Kyle placed the toy back under his chin. It happened twice and wasted a lot of time, but they did get the fish into the plastic box.

Mr. Dan and Robert made up for the wasted time by going faster on their second try. On their second try, Kyle held Kevin's feet as that team went back to the towel to get a fish. And, just as they did on their first try the twins lost the fish and had to scramble to get it into the box. Each team of two were able to go three times, but Kevin and Kyle never made it back to the box before time was called.

The crowd applauded them for doing such a good job of getting five fishes back to the rectangular box.

Now, it was Mr. Ken's team's turn. The man decided to pair up with Charles and let Eric and Matthew worked as a team. Then, when the whistle was heard, they started to work as a team to get the fish from the towel to the plastic rectangular box.

The two bigger people on the team easily held their partner's feet up, while the younger boys had enough upper body strength to hand walk to the fishes. The younger boys didn't have a problem walking on their hands to the towel and back and then dropping the fish into the box. They never once dropped the fish before putting it into the box. When the time was up Mr. Ken's team had six fish in the plastic box and had won the game.

The crowd applauded the winners only to learn from the MC the two teams were all from the same family. Mr. Ken was a bit embarrassed the announcer told a little of their story, but was all smiles when the crowd applauded them all that much more.

Mr. Ken, Eric, Charles and Matthew all won a 'Ship on a Stick', which was a plastic model of the Carnival Breeze cruise ship sitting on a black plastic base. Their competitors, and fellow Covers, all won a Carnival Medal Medallion of a Boat Funnel on a Rope Trophy. Mr. Wayne had gotten pictures and videos of the competition between the Covers, and he had them all pose for one last Winner and Runners-Up picture.

Mr. Ken looked at the time and seeing it was 4:45 he asked the Covers if they wanted to eat in the main dining room, or the buffet. The boys all agreed the buffet was easier for them as all they needed to do was change into nice clothes, and they didn't have to hurry.

The adults agreed with the boy's selection of the Buffet as it was the easier of the two. So, it was agreed they'd stay at the pool until 6 p.m., and then head to their cabins to change and head off to eat. They reasoned the buffet lines would have dissipated some, by the time they arrived.

That was their last night on the Carnival Breeze, and, while they ate, Mr. Ken told them they had to pack their bags. He told them to hold back some clean clothes to wear in the morning. When asked why, he told them they'd set their bags out in the hallway to be picked up and taken downstairs for a quick transfer to the terminal for them to pick them up before going through Customs. That brought up another discussion that Mr. Ken, Robert and Eric explained to the other Covers.

The next morning, being Priority cruisers, the Covers were some of the first people off the ship. That allowed them to get through Customs well before the limo-van was scheduled to pick them up, and take them to Hobby Airport for their return leg of their awesome Spring Break trip.

The Cover boys talked practically non-stop, as they rode to the airport where a different private Gulfstream 650 17-passenger executive jet was parked at the Commuter Terminal waiting on them. The boys helped off-load the baggage from the van, and place it on a cart for TSA to inspect. Within a half-hour, after being separately screened by TSA, the Covers were boarding the jet for their ride home.

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