You captured the parade and the essence of small town life perfectly. I'm curious as to what grabbed Gus and the children's attention. I loved the descriptions in this chapter. It was very well-written. Now something needs to break Rick out of his complacency. The two bikers have planted a seed... let's see if something germinates when Rick's father and stepmother arrive. Or I should say explodes... Rick is a bit of a ticking time bomb. He's put up with so much in his life, now it's time to break out and tell Daddy off. I think something's going to give when his father arrives. It's not fair I have to wait a whole week to find out!