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Heather Mackie and Michael Flagiello fell in love. Each had been married before. Heather had a young boy, Keith Henion, who was 4 years old when he first met Michael. Michael had two children, Michelle Flagiello, age 7, and John Flagiello, also age 4. John and Keith are less than six weeks apart in age.

Heather and Michael both had the scars of divorce. Unsure about how to pursue their relationship, they were very cautious about moving forward, particularly on introducing the children.

It was the spring of 1995. Heather and Michael sat at their favorite Italian restaurant and started planning how to bring the children together for the first time. The children were still young. A discussion about what the children liked and particular interests led to several main themes. Animals and amusement parks were clear priorities. So the plan was to go to Coney Island. The New York Aquarium and Coney Island amusement park sat side by side. And off they went! No talk about who are these people, no this is Michael my boyfriend or this is Heather a potential step-mom. These were simply kids and their parents. Check out the large Beluga whales, the shark tank, and the thousands of colorful fish. Let's go on the small kid roller coaster ride, bumper cars, and play a fun game. How about some fries, a cookie, and wasn’t it a wonderful day.

A smashing success it was. No big stress. No major announcements. Just two families getting together for some fun.

As their relationship progressed, Heather and Michael and the children had several other mini events: the Bronx Zoo, a local carnival, the Discovery Zone. With summer approaching, the plan was to go on vacation together with the children. Heather's family had a cottage by the sea in a small town called Friendship, located in mid-coast Maine. The date was June 28th. Michael borrowed his father's van. Although it was old and beat up, they needed something large enough to transport the five of them, Hook (Michael's golden retriever dog), Jessie and Justin (Heather's cats), and two weeks of luggage. They left late on a Friday night. Even though it was a long drive, the kids were excited. Heather and Michael had planned a late start so
the kids would drift off to sleep.

It was 2 a.m. when they arrived. With kids asleep, two very tired parents helped unpack the bare essentials and off they went to bed. Keith, John and Michelle all shared a room. Heather and Michael each had their own room.

The next day came fast. They were so close to the ocean. As the sun rose, the children wanted to explore this new land. And explore they did. Just after breakfast, the children were looking at the old books in a bookcase in the poop deck, a room that used to store rainwater before modern day plumbing, and found what looked like an old note written by a pirate. Michelle could read, but John and Keith were too young yet. Michelle read the note aloud.

The note referenced waiting for "high tide" and looking for clues. Heather understood how to read tide charts. She sat down and explained how the ocean tides worked, how the moon was involved, and showed the others as the day progressed the changing tides. The children patiently waited.

As promised, just as the tide reached its high, one of the children stumbled on another clue.

Naturally, the children ran to the sandy beach as fast as you can imagine. There they found piles of materials — wood, paint, letters, everything they needed. After several minutes of discussion, the five "Buccaneers" figured out the puzzle. The pirate had left enough supplies to build three treasure chests — one for each child.

After many hours of building, the five Buccaneers rested after a long day of adventure. Heather and Michael sat and talked for hours about the Buccaneers. The five included three Flagiello's, a Mackie, and a Henion. Now they seemed to have a connection — a safe identity. No mother or stepmother, father or stepfather, just five Buccaneers. No competition with Michelle and John's mother or Keith's father. Who were these Buccaneers? As later stated by Keith, John, Michelle, Heather, and Michael: