Published: 24 Mar 2022

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Levi said they needed to watch for the teen to start acting out. He added that he didn’t think it was normal for someone to have that sort of upheaval in his life and not react. Miriam agreed, but said that other than wanting to get revenge on whomever set him up, he seemed very level-headed and easy going. The husband and wife kissed one another, turned off the lights and went to sleep.

Mark slept well that night knowing that he now had his ‘big brother’ there in his home.

Mark woke up before his ‘big brother’. He quickly used the toilet and then jumped in the shower. He wanted to be finished before Billy woke up and wanted to get in the bathroom.

Billy had set his alarm clock for 8:30 and it went off as programmed. The teenager was happy his previous foster dad had bought him that alarm clock. It was not only an AM/FM digital clock radio, but it could also charge his cell phone and almost anything else that needed to be charged.

The teenager turned the alarm off and then laid back onto his bed. He felt so calm and relaxed when he was in that queen bed. He didn’t know what it was about that bed, but he loved it.

When Mark finished his shower, he knocked on Billy’s bedroom door and told him he was done with his shower, and he should get in there and get his, and then go down for breakfast so their mom doesn’t get mad at them. Mark then went and got dressed and down for breakfast.

It was 9:20 when Mark’s ‘big brother’ came into the kitchen for breakfast. Levi didn’t say anything as he told the teen that he wanted him up, showered and fed so they could leave by ten, and the boy still had forty minutes to make that deadline.

“Hey, you’re wearing a Texas Ranger’s t-shirt,” commented Mark.

“Yea, I caught it when I was at a game a couple of weeks ago,” replied Billy.

“How’d you catch it?” asked Mark.

“They have these t-shirt cannons they put the shirts in and they shoot them up into the crowd. I was lucky enough to grab one before someone else did,” explained Billy.

The foster boy then looked for the cereal he liked, got a bowl and then the milk. He sat down with a banana, as he had the other day, and cut it onto the poured cereal and then added the milk. The foster parents observed what he was doing and just shook their heads when the teenager began eating his breakfast.

When Mark’s parents didn’t say anything as to the way Billy was having his breakfast, Mark offered, “My ‘big brother’ … he told me he showed his other ‘brothers’ how to do that. He said they sometimes added blueberries or strawberries when they had them. He said it tastes good. I need to try that someday.”

Levi went back to reading his morning newspaper. Billy sort of snickered when the man did that. It was reminiscent of what Mr. Ken did every morning at The Cove.

“Where’d you go to the game, Billy?” asked Mark, as Billy was eating his cereal.

“Oh, Mr. Ken … he takes all of his foster kids on a one-on-one, three-day trip when he can fit it into his schedule. For me, we went up to Dallas/Fort Worth for a Rangers game, a visit to Six Flags Over Texas, a railroad museum and Speed Zone. That’s a place that has a bunch of go-kart race tracks, miniature golf courses and an arcade,” described Billy.

“Geez, you’ve traveled a lot and you were only living with him for what, three months” commented Mark.

“I actually only went on two trips, but the one trip was for nine days and the second one was for three days. And they were almost back-to-back to one another. So, with me telling you about them may seem like a lot to you, but it was actually only two,” said Billy, as he tried to clarify his travels.

“Even still … I can’t ever remember going on more than one trip in a year, let along two in three months. Right mom?” continued Mark.

“Mark … your ‘big brother’s’ last foster dad owns his own companies, and he works from home and has much more time available to him to do those types of trips than we do, honey. If we had all that time and money we’d travel more, too. Now finish your breakfast, so we can head off to the range,” explained Miriam.

Billy just sat back and inwardly smiled at the exchange. Here he was seeing another family type interaction unlike what he’d had in his own what he experienced at The Cove, or at the other foster homes he’d been sent to.

About ten minutes prior to leaving to go to the range, Levi told everyone to use the bathroom and then meet him in the garage. When all four people were in the van, Levi backed out of the garage, hit the remote to close the door and when the door was totally down, he hit the alarm button to arm the home alarm system. The man then backed out of the driveway and drove to the shooting range.

The Golderson’s met the Oxtter’s, Sielanger’s, Boemieller’s, Wrockman’s, and Arkere’s at the shooting range. Altogether, there were twenty-two people who walked into the range. Ten were adults, six were teenagers and six were adolescents.

The teenagers talked as teenagers do, greeting one another and asking what they were doing, which was ironic, as they were all at the shooting range to get or keep proficient in shooting the guns their parents had in their homes.

The younger boys talked about what they got to shoot. Of course, Mark, Kieran and Patrick wouldn’t be shooting today, as they hadn’t turned ten-years-old yet and that was when all the parents had agreed that they would start teaching their children the proper way to shoot.

Of all the teens, Billy was the complete novice and Levi asked for the furthest shooting stall. He told the Range Master about the novice and that he wanted to take his time giving him instruction and teaching him to shoot.

The Range Master understood and said he’d give them the last two stalls. That way he reasoned the man and his wife could shoot and then have a vacant stall to keep the teen from being interrupted as he learned to shoot and practiced.

The other families also took two firing stalls. It gave them the flexibility to change off especially when they were letting their children shoot.

Levi took his time showing Billy the workings of the three guns they brought with them today. Mark had seen them before, but he was more interested today because his ‘big brother’ was learning about them, and he wanted to make sure nothing was forgotten.

Levi first showed Billy his personal weapon, a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield M2.0 Compact Semi-Auto Pistol, 9mm Luger with an 8 + 1 shot capacity. The man told the teenager that it was small enough for him to conceal on his body, and it had enough stopping power if he ever had to use it.

Levi showed the boy how it came apart and was put back together. The man then showed Billy how to hold the small gun and point it down range at the target. Mr. Golderson then had them both put on ear defenders and eye protection and then Levi sent a few rounds down range.

Mr. Golderson unloaded the gun, cleared the chamber, and then let Billy dry fire the weapon to get used to the pressure needed to pull the trigger. Billy did exactly what he was told by his foster dad and pointed the gun down range and slowly squeezed the trigger. The teen was never so stoked at doing something for the first time.

After Billy dry fired the 9mm pistol a few times, Levi put the clip, with one bullet, back into the gun and had Billy face down range. The man then placed the handgun into the teenager’s hand and then told him to put one round in the target.

Billy chambered a round as he’d been shown, aimed and slowly squeezed the trigger. And when the gun fired, he was not only surprised at the report, but also at the kick back the gun gave him. Then, Billy smiled. Mr. Golderson could tell the teen had a big smile from the way his facial and neck muscles reacted to the shot.

“How was that? Was it what you expected?” asked Levi.

“No, sir, I mean, yes, sir, I mean, it was more than I ever expected,” stammered a smiling Billy Dirketson.

“You liked that I take it. What say I let you try that again? This time I’ll load two rounds in the magazine and I want you to shoot them both. But not bam, bam. Take your time, take aim and then shoot. When you’re over that first shot do the same thing. OK?” finished Mr. Golderson.

Billy said he understood. So, Levi loaded two rounds into the clip, inserted it into the gun and had Billy face down range. Once Billy was in position, the man placed the handgun in the teen’s hand and told him to shoot when he was ready.

Billy chambered a round, relaxed, brought the gun up and took aim. When he felt he was ready, he pulled the trigger. He was ready for the noise and the recoil of the gun that time. He knew he had a second round to send down range, so he relaxed, took aim and then sent the second round down range. This time the noise and recoil didn’t affect him at all.

Mr. Golderson brought the target up to the stall to show Billy where the rounds hit. They were all over the place. The man told his foster son not to worry about where the rounds landed, but that he was on target. Levi told Billy that, with practice, he would be able to get the rounds within the two innermost middle circles and that was good enough to stop someone intent on doing him harm.

That’s the way it went for the two hours they spent at the shooting range that Saturday. Mr. Goldson introduced Billy to the three guns they owned and kept in the house. Billy was then allowed to shoot them at a slow pace to get comfortable with each of them.

Over those two hours, Billy shot all three guns. He sent a total of sixty rounds down range, twenty from each of the three guns the Golderson’s brought with them today. Billy thanked both of his foster parents for allowing him to do that. He told them that was the most fun he had since he rode all those roller coasters on the trips he’d just taken.

When the families were finished with their shooting, the teens all got together and talked about what they’d done. When Billy told them about his first-time experience, the other teens listened and laughed at what he told them. They then told him that they didn’t do any better or anything different their first time shooting their parent’s handguns. They all laughed at hearing that.

The younger children were always disappointed they couldn’t shoot their parent’s guns just yet. But they always watched intently knowing that soon they would have their own .22 pistol to use to begin learning to shoot. Mark had even picked out the one he wanted and would get it as one of his birthday presents in August.

The families stood outside the shooting range, with darkening skies forming, and talked about where they wanted to go eat. The mom’s wanted a sit-down restaurant whereas the dad’s and the children wanted a buffet style place to go eat, as there were many more selections to choose from. The women won out and they all went to Texas Roadhouse that afternoon.

The adults let the teenagers and the younger children sit at their own tables, but they were across from one another. As they waited to order, Mark told everyone about the thousand Easter Eggs that his ‘big Brother’ had to help with at his last foster home. So, Billy had to explain what that was about to the teens at his table.

Billy finished that story just as the waiter came and the teens gave him their order. Billy, unlike the other teenagers. didn’t blink at the cost of the food. That was because Mr. Ken or Mr. Wayne always took him where they were going to eat and they always paid the bill. The foster son never had to deal with the cost, or worry about a budget.

But today, he was learning that in families they just couldn’t order the most expensive item on the menu each and every time they went out to eat. Even if the parents had a good income, they still had to watch their budget. When he lived with his mom and step-dad, they rarely went out to eat, so between two totally different households he was seeing how differently things were handled.

As they waited for their entrée’s, Mark told the group about the fireworks and the carnival they saw the night of the 4^th of July. Mark told everyone that if they had gone over to the carnival that night, they may have run into Billy there.

That brought about a lot of questions. Even the adults, who were sitting nearby and heard that pronouncement, wanted to know more themselves. At the adult table, Miriam and Levi told the other moms and dads what Billy told them last night about Mr. Ken paying for the fireworks and bringing in the carnival for the neighbors.

At Billy’s table, the foster son told all the teens and the younger kids across the way about how his previous foster dad, since he moved into his estate, paid for the 4^th of July fireworks and to bring in a carnival for his neighbors to enjoy.

Billy told the boys and girls what he knew about that arrangement and how the fireworks looked from his side of the barge. The foster boy told of the large American flag and all of the red, white and blue sparkler like fireworks and how the barge then sent out hundreds of small, medium and large fireworks, reports, flash bangs, crackles, whistles, and whizzers.

The older teens commented that they saw those. But Billy told them that all of that was shot in the direction of the estate, so they got a much better view of the fireworks.

Just then the darkened skies opened up and the rain fell fast and hard. The teens saw people outside the restaurant running to get under cover, or to their vehicles, before they got wet. Then they heard Billy laughing.

“What are you laughing at Billy?” asked Mark.

“Oh, nothing,” continued to chuckle Billy.

“Come on Billy. What is so funny? We want to know, too,” pestered Mark.

“Oh, OK. Where I used to live, just about now … they would be burning the hamburgers and hot dogs,” continued Billy, chuckling.

“But why is that so funny?” asked Mark.

“Well, it’s raining. … Oh, yea, I forgot. I was laughing because at my last place about now we’d cook hamburgers and hot dogs, so they’d be getting wet. But I forgot. Mr. Ken built a Pavilion with a 6-foot grill, so they’d be under cover. Sorry,” was what said, to explain himself.

Briggs asked Billy to tell them more about cooking hamburgers and hot dogs, but before the foster teen could answer, their entrees arrived and everyone began eating what they’d ordered.

The conversation around the table now centered on how good everything tasted. Mark loved going out to eat. Sure, his mom was a pretty good cook, but she seemed to cook the same thing over and over. At least when they went out to eat, he got to eat something different.

Billy loved going out to eat, as well. He rarely did that when he lived with his mom and step-dad, but got to enjoy the many different places he ate when he moved in with Mr. Ken and his ‘brothers’.

When their early dinner was over, Billy made sure to thank his new foster parents for taking him to that restaurant to eat. He told them about the other places he went with his ‘brothers’ and that he loved it when they went out even though Momma Maria was a great cook.

Mark wanted to play ball when they got back home, so he told everyone to get changed, get their gloves and meet at the playground. But the older teens told him that the field would be too muddy. They did say they could head over there and talk to Billy and get to know him better.

The parents heard what their kids were talking about, but many of them said they wanted to see what the weather was going to be like when they got home. The kids moaned, but they all headed to their vehicles and before everyone knew it, they were all headed home.

As soon as Mark and Billy returned home, Mark asked his dad if it would be too wet to pitch. His dad said the field was dirt and was probably muddy and he should just hold off for a day. Mark was disappointed.

Mark’s ‘big brother’ heard the disappointment in Mark’s voice, so he went to Mr. Golderson and asked him if he had old pieces of wood in his garage, so that he could maybe make a home plate and pitcher’s rubber.

Levi was intrigued by what Billy asked him, so he asked for further information. The foster son told his foster dad that they could search the internet for the dimensions and build them and then see if there was a space in the back yard where they could set them up. The teen explained, that way, Mark could have a place from where he could pitch and he could catch.

Levi turned it around and said they should see how much space they needed before they spent all that time working on something they couldn’t use. Billy quickly brought out his cell phone and searched for the distance between home plate and the pitcher’s mound – 46-feet.

Knowing they needed 46 feet, Levi got out his longest measuring tape and he and Billy went to where they thought they could find that distance. It was located in the space between the pool and the fence. Mr. Golderson figured there; it would be out of the way. The two foster people measured what they needed and put down a few markers.

Mark wasn’t with them when his dad and ‘big brother’ did all that. It was when the teen and man were searching through the pile of wood that Mark came looking for his ‘big brother’.

“What are you doing, Billy?” asked Mark.

“Your dad and I … we are going to try and build you a home plate and pitcher’s rubber so you can practice pitching here in your backyard. This way you won’t ever have to deal with a muddy field,” offered the new ‘big brother’.

Mark was surprised at hearing that and now he wanted to be involved in building the home plate and pitcher’s rubber, which actually would be made out of wood.

The boy’s dad heard what Mark said, so he told his son to go to the internet and get the dimensions for them while they find some good wood to use. Mark ran up to his room to get that information for his dad.

Foster dad and foster son found some wood that they figured would be good for the backyard. Levi figured the dimensions of the pitcher’s rubber was about 18 inches by at least 4 inches wide and as long as Mark had something to push against that would be good enough. The man figured he could always buy one if need be.

Mr. Golderson told Billy they’d use a 2 x 4 and cut it to 18 inches in length, while they waited for Mark to come back with the dimensions for the home plate. The man showed his foster son where the circular saw was, the carpenter’s square and the smaller tape measure and had him get them all out.

Levi showed Billy how to measure the 18 inches on the 2 x 4 using the tape measure and use the carpenter’s square to mark the board prior to cutting it. The man then showed the teenager how to use the circular saw. The man gave the teen some safety glasses and then had the teen make a practice cut further up on the board to get a feel for the saw.

After doing two practice cuts, Mr. Golderson told Billy to cut the board to the length they measured. Billy was a bit apprehensive at making the final cut. He took his time to set the saw blade near the mark, then he engaged the circular saw switch and then cut the board. When the piece fell off as it was expected to, Billy was all smiles.

Mark then came out to the garage and gave his dad a printout of the home plate dimensions. Levi looked them over and then gave the sheet to Billy and asked the teenager how he would plan that project out.

The foster son smiled and seeing he needed a piece of wood that was at least 20 inches by 20 inches, went looking for something that size, so he wouldn’t waste a bigger piece if he didn’t have to. Mr. Golderson watched, as Billy was somewhat methodical in selecting the right piece of material and then he had the teen begin to measure the home plate out on it.

Mark watched everything that Billy was doing and when he was finished, the ‘big brother’ asked his little ‘brother’ to check his rough drawing of the home plate on the board. Mark took the sheet and using the tape measure checked what he thought was the correct measurements.

Billy then asked his foster dad to check his work before they made any cuts. When Levi was satisfied, ‘big brother’ Billy asked the man how he wanted to cut that one. Levi smiled at hearing his foster son ask, instead of just taking the circular saw and begin cutting.

“Billy, I think we can use a jigsaw with this one, although the circular saw might give us straighter cuts. Let me get the jigsaw out and let you try that one and then you can choose which one you want to use. How does that sound?” finished Levi.

Billy liked that Mr. Golderson explained things to him and, just like Mr. Ken, didn’t get excited or anxious about anything he was talking to him about letting him do. When the teen’s foster dad brought the jigsaw over to him, the man showed him how to insert and lock the blade and then had Billy put on the safety glasses and make some practice cuts.

Mark watched what was happening. He began to feel a little jealous that his dad was showing his ‘big brother’ how to do things, but he never did that with him.

“Dad … why don’t you ever show me how to do things like you’re showing Billy?” asked an agitated Mark.

“Son, that’s because Billy is older and can handle these things better than a nine-year-old can. When you get older, I’ll show you how to use my tools. Now, watch and learn,” retorted the boy’s dad.

Billy knew what Mark was feeling. Jody never did anything with him and he practically grew up with him. So, he whispered to Mr. Golderson to let Mark use the jigsaw to cut on the old wood. The teen explained that way his son would see how easy or difficult it is.

Levi smiled at the suggestion. So, the man called his son over and told him he was going to let him try using the jigsaw, since that one was all set up. The man gave Mark some eye protection and showed him how to pull the trigger to make the blade go up and down to cut the wood.

Mr. Golderson told Mark just to cut on the old piece of wood Billy was using to get accustomed to the saw himself. The dad put some lines on the old piece of wood for Mark to follow and then let his son try out the jigsaw.

Mark placed the jigsaw against the wood, pulled the trigger and pushed the saw into the piece of wood. The saw vibrated in the boy’s small hand and the boy had a slightly difficult time trying to follow the lines. When Mark released the trigger to stop the saw, Billy leaned in and told his little ‘brother’ to push down a little harder, as he pushed forward, to see if that reduces the vibration.

Mark tried what his ‘big brother’ told him to do. But as the young boy pushed down, he forgot to push forward and he wasn’t following the simple lines his dad set out for him to cut. Frustrated, Mark told Billy, “Here, you do it!”

Hoping Billy would have just as difficult a time as he had, Mark watched as Billy not only cut the wood, but he easily followed the lines and was able to cut out the small piece of wood Mr. Golderson had diagramed.

Looking at his ‘big brother’, Mark demanded, “Why could you do it and I couldn’t?”

“It’s because as you get older and bigger you can do things easier. You just don’t have the hand power yet and the understanding of what you need to do. It only comes with time, patience, training and experience. That’s what your dad was trying to explain to you.

“I hope you’ll give him some slack and the next time he’s doing something, you’ll watch and learn, and maybe he’ll let you take a try at it, so you have an understanding. It’s the same thing as your pitching. You have to practice to get better and better at it,” counseled Billy.

Mark thought about what his ‘big brother’ said to him. After a few moments, the boy went over to his dad and apologized for being such a ‘baby’ about it. Levi grabbed his son and hugged him and told him that they’ll get to do lots of things together as he gets older.

Mark smiled at his dad and then asked what they needed to do to finish making the home plate.

Billy said if they wanted the home plate to look good, he should use the circular saw. The teen reasoned it gave quick cuts verses the slow methodical cut the jigsaw allowed. Levi agreed and brought back the circular saw.

This time, though, Levi showed both boys they needed to clamp the piece of wood in place since they were working on a smaller piece than before. When the wood was stable and tight, Levi had them all put on eye protection and then told Billy to start cutting.

The teenager had to make five cuts to complete the home plate they were making. And each time the teen made a cut they had to reposition the wood and clamp it tight so it wouldn’t move, as Billy pushed the circular saw along the line.

When the project was finished, Mark held it up and smiled that his dad and ‘big brother’ made that for him. He hugged them both.

But Billy told his little ‘brother’ it wasn’t done. The teen said the plate needed to be painted, and then asked his foster dad if he had any white spray paint. Mr. Golderson looked through his many cans of paint and found a can of white that was about half full.

Billy also asked Levi if he had any spike nails. The man was curious as to why they needed those. The teen said with them they could keep the plate and rubber in place. The man went looking for some and found something and asked his foster son if they would work. Billy looked at the four-inch nails and said they were better than nothing.

Billy again whispered to Mr. Golderson that he should let Mark try drilling the holes. Again, Levi smiled and called Mark over and told him what he was going to let him try. The dad showed his son how to put the drill bit into the chuck, tighten it with the chuck key and then pull the trigger to make the drill start.

Mark was all smiles; he was going to drill the holes in the home plate and pitcher’s rubber. The boy’s dad had the boy, with his safety glasses on, try a few practice holes in the old piece of wood to get the feel of the torque the drill would put into his hand.

After the trial holes, Levi had Mark drill the five holes in the home plate. Those were relatively easy as that wood was only a half-inch thick. When Mark tried to drill through the 2 x 4 wood being used for the pitcher’s rubber, he found it wasn’t as easy. The boy had his ‘big brother’ finish doing those.

Mark was then allowed to spray paint the two projects. But first Billy inserted the nails so they were painted as well. Levi showed his son how to sweep the spray paint can back and forth to get good coverage on both pieces of wood.

When the project was all painted, Levi told the boys they needed to let them dry and, in the meantime, they needed to set out where they would place them. Again, they took out the measuring tape and Mark was allowed to hold the end while the boy’s dad and ‘big brother’ stretched the tape out to 46 feet.

They marked where home plate would be and Billy went to the garage and got it. He brought it and a hammer for Mr. Golderson to put it into the ground. The man had Mark get the pitcher’s rubber and they remeasured the distance and placed it in the correct position.

The whole time the three were working on the project, Miriam would look out and see what they were doing. She was happy that her husband was taking the time to do something with the boys. She was even happier that her foster son suggested he build those things for her son, Mark, and that got all of her ‘men’ out working together.

When the pitcher’s rubber and home plate were in place, Mark raced to get his glove and ball. Billy got out Levi’s glove to catch for Mark, but he remembered he was the new kid, so he asked Levi if he wanted to do that. The man smiled as he took his glove from the teen and got behind the newly made home plate.

Levi and Mark warmed up some before Levi got down as a catcher and had his son pitch to him. Mark was loving his new pitcher’s lane in his backyard. But it didn’t take long for Levi to offer his glove back to his foster son to catch for his own son. That was because Mark wore his dad out because the man wasn’t used to bending over, catching, standing up to throw the ball back and bending back down.

“You two have fun. But, Mark, don’t overdo this. Maybe twenty or thirty more pitches and quit,” cautioned the boy’s dad. “I don’t want you to hurt your arm. You’re not used to doing this yet.”

Mark and Billy had a good time pitching and catching. When the last thirty throws were done, Mark thanked his ‘big brother’ with a big hug for suggesting he build the home plate and pitcher’s rubber for him, so he could practice there at home.

The two boys then decided to take a swim.

The saga of Three Finger Cove continues. Let Chowhound know you are reading his story: Chowhound at CastleRoland dot Net

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