Chapter 6
Maggie Valley, NC
BACK IN THE KITCHEN, I told Mike I’d set the wheels in motion with Ernest, then I said to Robbie, “Robbie, have you ever been to the movies?”
“No, Sir.”
“Would you like to go to a movie tomorrow morning?”
“Sure,” he said. “One of the kids at the kindergarten last year talked about going to the movies.”
“Okay,” I said, “that’s what we’ll do.” That’s just about the longest sentence he’s uttered yet, I thought.
The Saturday matinee at the movies in Asheville was a huge success. We had Cokes and popcorn and, in a theater full of kids, watched the animated feature. Afterward, we drove around Asheville, casually driving by our rental properties and eyeballing them—and without exception, they were looking good. Two young men from Waynesville, Donnie and Joe, wer
