Secrets: The Truth is Slowly Revealed - 41. Chapter 41 S1

Chapter 41 – The End of Summer

When we woke up, we went downstairs to have breakfast with my parents, and while we were eating my dad spoke.

“We’re taking you to Lakeside Amusement Park near Denver today, and we’ll be going to see the Michael Garman Museum: the Home of Magic Town in Colorado Springs a couple of days later. We’ll be spending the two nights in between at the Glen Eyrie Castle and Conference Center that’s also in Colorado Springs. It’s the former home of a very wealthy family and a place of interest.

“I know what an amusement park is, and I imagine the last place must look like a castle, but what’s the other thing, the Magic Town?” Devin asked.

“It’s a miniature version of a town that you might have seen sometime between the 1940s and 1960s. It has different buildings that were constructed to scale, and each one is complete with sculpted figures so you can get a feeling for what life was like back then.”

It didn’t take long for us to load our suitcases into the SUV, and then my dad asked us to also take the cooler out and place it in the back of the SUV.

“What’s the cooler for?” I asked.

“Lakeside Amusement Park doesn’t sell any food, but they have picnic areas where visitors can relax and eat, so your mother made a lunch we can take with us. We’ve packed it in the cooler, and that way we’ll have something to eat while we’re there.”

As soon as everything was in the SUV, Devin and I hopped in the backseat and got comfortable. We placed our ear buds into our ears and listened to music on our phones, since we knew we’d have a couple of hours to kill before we arrived there.

Lakeside is an older amusement park that started operation in 1908 and is privately owned. Of course, it’s been updated since it first opened and you can tell because you can still see remnants of some of the older rides that are no longer in use. They are piled up in various locations within the park, and it tends to make the place appear slightly decrepit. If you ignore those areas, though, the park still offers the potential for a great time.

Lakeside has a collection of rides for the older children and adults, as well as additional rides for the younger children. We only focused on the rides for the older children and adults and hurriedly scoped out which one we wanted to go on first.

“I’m going to warn you,” my mom began, “that your father and I will only ride on the three roller coasters one time each, and we don’t plan on going on the drop tower. If you want to do that, or if you plan on going on the roller coasters multiple times, then we’ll use the opportunity to take a ride on the train that travels around the lake.”

“Ok, then let’s do the rides that you’re willing to go on with us first and then we’ll decide what else we want to do after that, depending on how much time is left.”

We started out on the Cyclone, which is a wooden roller coaster that was constructed in 1941. It may sound old and outdated, but it was well maintained and we all had a really good time riding on it. It might not have been as thrilling as some of the more modern roller coasters we’ve ridden on, but it was thrilling enough to get our blood pumping.

“I’d ridden on a lot of similar roller coasters while I was growing up,” my dad informed us, “and it’s just as exciting now as it was back then.”

Once we got off that ride, we went on the Skoota Boats next, in order to give my parents’ stomachs a break from constantly going up and down. Skoota Boats is what the park calls the ride, but they’re basically bumper boats that you can use to ram into one another in a confined area. It wasn’t what I’d call thrilling, but it was definitely a lot of fun.

“Now that’s the type of ride I really enjoyed,” my mom stated.

“And I noticed how you kept targeting me,” my dad responded.

“Nah, she bumped into me and Devin a bunch of times too,” I clarified.

“That’s just the way she drives,” my dad quipped before my mom playfully punched him in the arm.

After that ride ended, we took a spin on the Wild Chipmunk roller coaster next. It’s called this because each of the two-person cars that we rode in is named for one of the members of the Chipmunks musical group: Simon, Theodore, and Alvin. It also has an unusual track, and after the cars climbed up the initial incline the track winds back and forth in a series of long, slender U-shapes. Each time we reached the bottom of a U, it made us feel as if the car was going to go off the end of the track and plummet to the ground below before it finally turned. Once we finished going through that section, we experienced the first serious drop, followed by a variety of ups and downs, as well as some twists and turns before the ride came to an end.

“I’ve been on a lot of roller coasters before, but never one like that,” Devin informed us when we were all together again.

“Yes, It was definitely different, but it was still a lot of fun,” I stated.

From there we went to try out the Auto Skooters or bumper cars next. It’s similar to the Skoota Boats, but instead of being on the water, this time we operated a vehicle on land as we selected our next target to bump into.

“This ride reminds me of when your mother was first learning how to drive,” my dad joked.

“Nah, it’s probably more like me when I was learning how to drive,” I offered, hoping it would make mom feel less picked on, but it was too late. She’d already punched my dad in the arm again.

We followed that up by going over to take a ride on the Dragon next, which is the final roller coaster that was designed to look like a dragon, but as soon as we saw it we realized it was a kiddie roller coaster. We quickly decided to pass it up and try out the Ferris Wheel instead. It turned out to be a fairly standard Ferris Wheel and the type you might ride on at any county fair.

“I was impressed,” Mom stated when the ride was over, “because it certainly gave us a wonderful view of the lake and surrounding area when we were at the top.”

“And the breeze while we were up there helped to cool us off, since it seems to be getting hotter all the time,” Devin added.

After we finished going on those rides, Devin and I were ready to see what the Zoom drop tower was like before going on the two roller coasters again. After explaining this to my parents, my mom had something to say before they took off.

“Ok, if you’re going to go on the drop tower and the roller coasters again, then we’ll spend our time going on the Orient Express train ride. If you boys are still taking turns on those other rides when we get off the train, then we’ll go on the Ferris Wheel again, and then we’ll probably try out the Merry-Go-Round. When you’re ready, you can catch up with us at one of those locations and then we’ll all grab a bite to eat.”

“Ok, that sounds like a plan,” I agreed, mimicking one of my dad’s favorite phrases.

Devin and I then took off to enjoy a few more of the thrill rides, starting with the Zoom drop tower. It had four seats across on each of the four sides, so we took the two seat on one side, with me in the outer most seats. A kid who was probably 11 or 12-years-old took the seat nest to Devin, and even though he wasn’t very old, he must have met the 4’ 6” (137 cm) minimum height requirement. A short time later, an older boy, probably in his mid-teens, took the final seat on our side of the drop tower.

After we’d all been secured into our safety harnesses and we’d been checked over by the attendant, the ride began its ascent to the top of the tower. I was looking forward to this, because I’d been on other drop towers before that were even higher, so I wanted to see how this one compared. We had just been released and started to drop when I saw Devin reach over and grab ahold of the arm of the boy next to him. I wasn’t sure why he did this, but it must have been important, because he didn’t release the boy until we were safely on the ground.

“What the hell do you think you were doing?’ Devin demanded before he let go of the boy’s arm. “Why did you release your safety harness like that?”

“I just thought it would be more fun and scarier if I did that.”

“It was scarier alright, because you nearly slid out of your seat and would have fallen the entire distance, instead of riding down. That’s 150 feet up (45.7 m) in the air and it would have been the same as falling from a 15 story building. You would have been seriously injured or possibly even killed if I hadn’t caught you?”

“I know and thanks for doin’ that.”

“You’re welcome, but promise me you’ll never mess with any of the safety equipment again on any of the rides. They’re thrilling enough when you’re following the safety procedures.”

“Ok, I promise.”

“Where are your parents?” I asked.

“They didn’t want to go on this ride, so they left to go on some other rides and let me go on this by myself.”

“Well, go find them now and stay with them. And don’t try any more stunts like that.”

“Ok,” he quickly agreed before taking off.

“Now, I want you to tell me your side of the story,” I said to Devin.

“Just as we began to drop, I noticed the boy sliding out of his seat, so I reached over, grabbed his arm, and held onto it. I had to quickly strengthen the muscles in that arm so I didn’t lose my grip on him, and I’m surprised the kid wasn’t screaming that I was hurting him.”

“He would have been hurt a lot more if you didn’t do that.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I’m glad you were sitting next to him, though, because I probably wouldn’t have even noticed what was happening until it was too late. Even if I did, I probably wouldn’t have reacted quickly enough to save him.”

“I hope that wouldn’t have been the case, but that kid was just lucky that I was able to grab his arm in time.”

“Yep, it was Devin to the rescue again.”

He merely made a face and rolled his eyes at my comment, and then we went to ride on the roller coasters again. When we were finally ready to stop, we went to find my parents. They’d obviously finished their ride on the train by then, and they weren’t on the Ferris Wheel either, so we went over to the Merry-Go-Round to see if they were there. It didn’t take very long for us to spot them, and then we waved until they saw us. When the ride ended, they came over to join us.

“Have you and Dad been having a good time?”

“Yes, and sometimes the simplest rides are the best,” Mom replied.

We then went to the SUV and grabbed the cooler out of the back so we could take it to one of the picnic areas. As we were eating, I asked my mom and dad what they wanted to do when we finished having lunch.

“I thought we could see what the Sports Cars, or go-karts, are like, and then we can try the bumper boats and bumper cars again,” Dad answered. “After that I thought we could take a spin on some of the more traditional rides like the Tilt-A-Whirl, Scrambler, and the Whip. Once we’ve done those things, you boys can go back on the roller coasters and drop tower again if you want, or we can try out some of the other rides that are a little tamer.”

“Ok, that sounds like a plan.”

After we finished eating, Devin and I carried the cooler back to the SUV, and then we joined my parents on the rides they’d mentioned previously, along with a few others. The Sports Cars weren’t nearly as powerful as the high-performance go-karts we rode on prior to this, but they were still fun, and when we finished up there we parted ways again.

“Ok, if you boys are going to go on the roller coasters and drop tower again, then we’ll take another spin on some of the rides we were just on, and then we’ll go over and ride on the Merry-Go-Round. You can meet up with us there and then we’ll drive to the Glen Eyrie Castle and get check in.”

“Ok, then we’ll see you at the Merry-Go-Round when we’re ready to leave.”

We rode on those rides again, and fortunately there were no more close calls on any of them, especially the drop tower. When we grew tired of those rides, we went to find my parents. As we expected, they were on the Merry-Go-Round again and appeared just like two sweethearts from years gone by. They were obviously still very deeply in love, a fact that everyone there could attest to, not just us, and as soon as my parents spotted us, they waved and then got off the ride when it ended. From there, we headed out to the SUV and prepared to leave.

“The Glen Eyrie Castle is in the same general area as Michael Garman’s Magic Town, which will be our third destination. After we check in, we’ll go to our rooms and freshen up first, and then we’ll go have supper, if that’s agreeable with both of you.”

“Yeah, it sounds great,” we confirmed.

After driving for just over an hour, we located Glen Eyrie and went up to the front desk.

“My name is Michael MacPherson,” my dad told the clerk, “and I made reservations for two rooms for two nights.”

“Yes, sir. Your rooms are ready for you.”

My dad then signed some forms and we were given the keys to our rooms. We then wheeled our suitcase to the rooms and looked them over to make certain they were acceptable, and there was no doubt they were. In fact, they were the nicest rooms I’d ever stayed in. After we washed up, we met up with my parents again.

“I checked out the complimentary guidebook in our room,” my dad began, “and it listed all of the nearby restaurants, so I just need to know what type of food you boys are up for this evening? I noticed a steakhouse, an Italian restaurant, an Oriental restaurant, and a restaurant that called itself ‘a family restaurant serving an American cuisine’. Which one would you prefer?”

“I thought we were going to eat here,” I countered.

“No, we’ll do that tomorrow night.”

Once that was settled, I talked it over with Devin and then answered my dad. “Let’s try that last one tonight, because we want something that will remind us of mom’s cooking.”

My mom seemed pleased with my answer, so we headed out to eat. After we’d ordered, we chatted as we waited for our food.

“I hope you don’t mind that we took the room with the tub and shower,” my dad said, “since your mother likes to soak in the tub.”

“No, having just a shower is fine with us, because we haven’t taken a bath since we were kids.”

“Then what do you think of the room?” my mom followed.

“It’s very elegant and must cost a small fortune,” I replied.

“And it has a great view,” Devin added. “I can see the stone bridge from the window in our room.”

“Yes, we have a lovely view as well.”

“I just have trouble realizing that people once lived like this,” Devin stated. “They must have had a bunch of maids and butlers to take care of everything.”

“Yes, I’m sure they did,” my dad agreed. “And when we get back there, I want you boys to get a good night’s sleep and we’ll explore the place further tomorrow.”

When we finished eating, we returned to the Castle so we could turn in.

“I’ll call you in the morning to make sure you’re up,” my mom said before we entered our room.

“Ok, that sounds good.”

Devin and I were still kind of wound up from the rides and Devin saving that boy, so we made love to each other before we went through our nightly ritual. When we finished, we decided to talk a bit before we went to sleep.

“I’m surprised you didn’t tell your parents about me saving the boy on the drop tower.”

“They think the drop tower is too dangerous as it is and I didn’t want them to think they’re right. I also didn’t want to upset them.”

After we finished talking, we cuddled and quickly fell asleep.

The next thing I remembered is when the phone rang in the morning. I picked it up and said “hello”, and my mom told us to meet them at the SUV in a half-hour so we could go out for breakfast. I agreed and hung up so Devin and I could get ready.

After we ate breakfast, we went on a guided walking tour around the property as our guide pointed out some of the more impressive features to us. We were told that the castle we see to day is the result of it being remade in the Tudor Revival style starting in 1903 and completed a year later. The original owner did that so it would resemble the stone castles that he’d visited in his native country, England.

She also told us the castle sits on 800 acres, has 67 rooms, and 24 fireplaces, and the majestic mountains serve as a very impressive backdrop as they loom up around it. The mountainsides are also covered with towering pines that have been there for many decades, and many of these pines also grace the land around the castle. I’m sure the pines must elicit a feeling of awe and wonder in the winter when they’re covered with a dusting of newly fallen snow.

Some distance In front of the Castle is the Garden of the Gods National Natural Landmark. The huge rocky outcropping rose up in striking splendor as silent guardians protecting the land. They are comprised of deep-red, pink, and white sandstone and have formed many wondrous features, such as Steamboat Rock, the Three Graces, and Balanced Rock, along with rocky overhangs that native peoples once used for shelter. Many Native Americans still have a deep connection to this area, including the Apache, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, Lakota, Pawnee, Shoshone, and Ute tribes.

The most remarkable external feature of the castle is the four-story circular tower that stands on one corner of the building and gives it the feature that most resembles a castle. The grounds are also well groomed and manicured, and there is a stream that runs along one side of the castle. The stream’s banks are covered with large stones as it passes by the castle, and there’s a stone bridge that crosses over it. All-in-all it’s very impressive, at least I thought so.

“That can’t really be a castle,” Devin stated, “because it has too many windows that would allow attackers to easily get inside.”

“Then think of it as the main building within the walls of the castle where the king or other nobleman resides.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

After we finished the tour, we went to eat lunch, and when we returned we took another tour. This one was a historical tour and it began with us watching a brief video about the castle, including some historic information. It explained that the original castle was a wood-framed structure and showed us a view of it before it was redone. It was added onto during the 1880s and eventually the stone façade was added to make it appear more like a castle.

We were then guided around the first and second floors of the interior of the castle, or the ground and first floor for Europeans. During the tour a number of the elaborate and uniquely designed fireplaces were pointed out to us, along with other impressive architectural features. Our guide also told us stories about the Palmer family, the family that built the castle, including General William Jackson Palmer who ran a railroad and also founded the city of Colorado Springs.

We were then taken to view many different rooms, including the music room, the library, the Great Hall, and a couple of the guest rooms that weren’t currently occupied. We were also taken to the carriage house, which once housed the horses and horse drawn carriage that were used to get around, and later it was converted into a garage where the earlier versions of the automobile were parked.

“I still can’t imagine somebody living in a place like this,” Devin stated. “It’s just so large and elegantly decorated, and it must have taken an army of servants to maintain it and keep it clean.”

“You know, when I was a young girl I dreamed about marrying a prince and living in a place like this,” my mom said whimsically.

“But she married a pauper instead,” my dad followed. “Our house would easily fit inside the carriage house, let alone the castle.”

“Not everyone is wealthy enough to live in a place like this,” I stated, “and I’m happy living just as we are.”

The tour was not only informative, but it was also quite interesting and made us question our lives. I believe each of us concluded that we were happy as things were, and we enjoyed taking the tour.

“Ok, now I’m going to take us over to the Garden of the Gods for another type of tour,” my dad informed us, “so we’ll have to go out and get in the SUV so I can drive us over there.”

It sounded like a great idea and we were all eager to do this, and when we arrived there we discovered there were several different tours we could take. There were jeep & trolley tours and bike tours, but we finally agreed on doing something a little different and opted for the segway tour. A segway is a two wheeled vehicle that you stand on to ride, and you lean slightly forward to move ahead, slightly backward to move in reverse, and you stand straight up and center your feet over the wheels to stop or stand still. To turn, you move the hand grip slightly in the direction you wish to go, and that’s the extent of what you have to remember.

My mom was hesitant about doing this at first, but after we explained that our guide would give us a brief lesson on how to operate them and then give us a chance to practice before we started out. She decided to give it a try and quickly discovered it was easier than she thought it would be, so we followed our guide and started the tour.

We followed a paved pathway, so there wasn’t any chance of getting lost, and we got an opportunity to see some of the unique features up close and personal, since we stopped at each one for a brief time. On the tour, we got to see the North and South Gateway Rocks, the Kissing Camels, the Three Graces, the Sleeping Giant, the Park Overlook, and the Praying Hands.

At one point I was shocked when Devin came to a quick stop, hopped off his segway, and darted toward the underbrush. That’s when I noticed a bighorn sheep with its head bowed low and heading toward the line of segways in front of me. It never reached them, however, since Devin tackled it and brought it down before it could do any harm.

The others on the tour seemed to be as shocked as I was when this happened, although those farther up only heard the commotion and stopped to see what was going on. That’s when our tour guide approached Devin to ask him about what had just occurred.

“I saw movement off to my right and realized the bighorn sheep was about to charge us, so I ran up and tackled it before it could do any harm.”

“Did you get injured doing that?” the tour guide asked.

“No, I think that sheep felt it more than I did.”

“I’m not exactly sure how you managed it, but you probably saved one or more of the group from serious injury. You probably also saved the park a $1,000 or more of damage, depending on how many segways were damaged or destroyed in the process.”

When Devin reached me on his way back to the segways he was on, I asked him a question. “What did you do so you didn’t get injured?”

“I gave myself runner’s legs so I’d reach it in time,” he whispered back, “and I increased my upper body and neck muscles to keep me from injuring myself.”

“Good catch. That was very impressive and you got to be the hero again. That’s twice in two days!”

Once again, he made a face and rolled his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. He merely got on his segway and we all took off again.

During the tour, in addition to seeing the various sights, the tour guide also told us some of the tall tales and true stories about the Old West and Colorado Springs. He was quite entertaining while doing this, and some of the information he gave us was quite humorous, as well as very enlightening and intriguing. It was yet another tour we were glad we’d taken.

When the tour ended, we headed back to the castle and went back to our rooms to wash up and change for supper, and then we went to the Great Hall to eat. During the meal we chatted about the different tours we’d taken today and my dad made a comment.

“Devin, you not only amazed me, but you impressed me as well with that little stunt you pulled at the Garden of the Gods.”

“And you probably saved me from getting hurt,” my mom added. “That animal wasn’t aiming for me, but it could have veered toward me at the last minute, or I could have gotten hurt in the pileup it created when it knocked down the others in front of me. I’m not sure if I”d have been able to react in time to avoid running into them.”

“I just got lucky and I was glad that I kept anyone from getting hurt or frightened.”

After talking about the different tours, the consensus was that we were all glad we’d spent the extra day here so we could do these things.

When the meal ended, we returned to our rooms, and as soon as the door was shut, Devin turned toward me, gritted his teeth, and spoke.

“I keep telling you that I don’t do these things in order to be a hero. I’m just trying to help and do what is right.”

“Ok, I didn’t mean to upset you, but I still think it’s kind of neat that my boyfriend does these things.”

He started to relax after I said this, and then to reward him, we took turns making love to one another before going through our nightly ritual and getting ready for bed. We then cuddled together as we fell asleep. Tomorrow we’ll be going to the final stop on this trip before heading home.

After eating breakfast, my dad drove us over to the Michael Garman Museum: the Home of Magic Town. We started out by viewing a 4-minute interactive video tour and introductory video about Magic Town and featuring Michael Garman, and then we began to walk around. Just as Dad had described it previously, the place contains a miniature city, complete with scaled down buildings and intricate sculptures of people. When seen together, they form a snapshot of various cities from around the world that Garman had visited throughout his life.

“It’s like having hundreds of dollhouses, including a movie theater, a hotel, and a café,” my mom observed, “and each place has its own realistic-looking inhabitants. The only difference between this and a dollhouse is that no one is allowed to play with these marvelous items.”

“Yes, this place is incredible,” my dad agreed. “Just look at the figure of the guy in the café. He’s leaning against an old fashion jukebox and mulling over which song he wants to play before he inserts a coin into it.”

“I like the Crown Theater the best,” my mom stated. “It reminds me of the theater we used to take the boys to when they were younger.”

“Yeah, it does,” Devin agreed. “You mean one guy created all of these things?”

“Yes, Garman did it off and on over four decades,” my dad replied, “and I understand that he spent over a million dollars putting all of this together.”

“Damn, it’s incredible,” I agreed, “but I think I would have found another way to spend the million dollars.”

“That may be, but you might understand his reasons for doing this better after you’ve seen more of it.”

“Maybe, but I doubt it.”

“Come on, let’s keep going,” Devin urged.

A short while later, my mom made another observation. “Look, there is even a clothesline with clothes hanging off it from that tenement building. I remember when my mother hung her clothes out on the line that my father hooked up between the front porch and a tree.”

“But you hang clothes outside too,” I challenged.

“Yes, but I hang my clothes on one of those umbrella clotheslines that swivel around.”

After we walked around a little longer, Devin made a comment to me. “It’s obvious that Garman didn’t just focus on the better parts of town either, because some of these places look pretty rundown.” And then in a whisper he added, “Do you think anyone would notice if we shrunk ourselves down to the size of the sculpted figures and got into one of the displays?”

“Maybe not if we stood still, but I’m pretty certain they’d notice if we were moving around,” I replied after giving him a look that said ‘be careful about what you say around my parents’.

A little later, I asked my dad a question about this place. “Do you think they do anything special here at Christmas?”

“Yes, from what I understand they add some Christmas trees and other decorations to a few of the displays. I also believe they add a few additional ghouls, ghosts, and zombies at Halloween as well.”

Once we finished wandering around Garman’s Magic Town, my dad stopped and wanted to know what we thought of the place.

“I’ll admit it’s incredible,” I stated, “but I still think I would have found a better way to use the million dollars.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Devin added. “This place is awesome and it would have been a shame if it wasn’t here. I’m sure it has touched a lot of people who’ve seen it and I’m certain those who hadn’t lived through the decades depicted here have learned a lot just from going through this place.”

“I agree, and I’m glad you feel that way,” my dad responded, “but I’m getting hungry, so let’s go grab a late lunch.”

Dad took us to Poor Richard’s Restaurant next, and it wasn’t just a restaurant either. It also had a separate ‘Book & Gift’ store, as well as a toy store that was also attached to the main building.

After we sat down at a table, our server informed us that this place was famous for its New York style pizza. He said they were also famous for its sandwiches that are served on freshly baked bread and come with a side of made-from-scratch soup. The restaurant also offers its own house salad, a house-made lasagna, and veggie burgers, so we all found something to order.

As we waited for our meals to be delivered, Devin made a comment to my mom and dad. “I’ve really enjoyed the time I’ve spent with you guys and I want to thank you for everything.”

“We’re glad you were with us and we enjoyed you being with us as well,” my mom replied. “Mike and I love both of you boys and just wish we could have done more.”

“And I love you too,” Devin added. “It’s like I’ve got two sets of parents.”

“We’re glad you feel that way,” my mom replied.

“And I feel that way too, because Devin’s parents treat me just like they do Devin.”

“Maybe better,” Devin teased.

“Nah, they’d never do that.”

“Anyway, what I wanted to ask was if I can call you Ma and Pa, since I feel so close to you. I chose those names so you wouldn’t get confused as to which of us was talking to you.”

My parents had been looking at each other while Devin had continued to speak, and when he stopped, my dad answered his question.

“Yes, that would be fine, and Mickey you should do that with Devin’s parents as well.”

“Yes, that’s a good idea,” I agreed, because I didn’t want them to think that I’d already done it. They probably wouldn’t have cared, but I felt it was better if they thought it was their suggestion.

We stopped talking when our meals were delivered, and they were all delicious and quite filling, and each of us enjoyed the items that we’d ordered.

When we finished our meals, we got back in the SUV and started the trip home. Along the way, I decided to inform my parents about a slight change of plans.

“Devin and I have decided that we’re not going to leave for campus until tomorrow afternoon, because we’ll probably get home late and we want to get plenty of rest before we start the trip.”

“That sounds like a very good idea,” my dad responded.

“And it will give me a chance to fix you a nice meal before you leave,” my mom added.

When we arrived home, we told my parents to go inside and relax and Devin and I would carry everything inside.

“I won’t be able to relax,” my mom said. “I’ll have to start working on supper soon.”

“Then we’ll help you with that too,” I offered.

“I certainly appreciate your offer, but I’m not sure how much you’ll be able to help with.”

“We’ll do whatever we can,” I added, and then we set the table so she wouldn’t have to do that as well.

The meal wasn’t anything fancy, but it was tasty and filling, and then Devin and I also did the cleanup afterward. When we finished, we joined my parents in the living room to watch TV for a little while before we all got ready for bed. We were more than ready to get some shuteye.

This is the End of Book 1: Secrets: The Truth is Slowly Revealed

Please let me know what you thought of this story.