Chapter 6: The Reunion

Carl’s phone buzzed him awake at 10:00. He groggily reached for the end table to silence the alarm. He put his arm over his head and thought about the previous night. Was it a dream? No. Carrie had a secret. Her family, her incestuous family, was fond of fucking one another the weekend of The Reunion. This weekend.

He heard a creek, then he heard Franklin’s voice carry through the closed bedroom door.

“Carl, are you awake?”

He coughed to clear his throat then called out, “Yeah. Alarm just went off.”

“The reunion starts in about an hour. When you are ready, we’ll have some food ready before we go.”

Carl swung his legs off the bed and headed to the bathroom. He turned on the hot water and when it started to steam jumped in for a fast shower. He shaved while under the spray, toweled dry, brushed his teeth, and tossed on shorts and a polo.

In the living room, Franklin was sitting in his chair. Helena was in the kitchen at the stove.

“How do you like your eggs?” she asked.

“Whatever you are making is good with me,” answered Carl.

Ten minutes later the three were seated at the table enjoying scrambled eggs with sausage links, orange juice, and coffee. Carl was trying not to stare but could not keep the events that occurred less than eight hours earlier out of his mind.

“Thank you for breakfast,” Franklin said as he took his plate and cups to the sink. When he got back to the table, Helena and Carl had finished so Franklin bussed their dishes.

“There will be hot dogs and burgers and the campground, but we find it best to eat before we go,” Franklin said.

“Ready?” Helena asked.

“Let’s go,” Carl said and followed them out of the house.

“If you want, you can ride with us,” Franklin said as he clicked his car fob.

When they arrived, there was a beehive of activity at the campground. A half-dozen people were busy putting up a volleyball net, two men were putting up a large tent for shade, while others were piling coals on grills, and a few more were putting chips and drinks on folding tables not far from the grill.

“Franklin,” one of the men called. “Get over here and help us get the tent up.”

Franklin quickly headed over to the work in progress and helped get the tent secure. Helena headed to the table, carrying the two bags she took from the trunk. Carl was pulling a cooler that they brought.

“Here are some more drinks and cookies,” she said to no one in particular. She motioned for Carl to put the cooler at the far end of the table.

“Carl,” she said, “I think you met most of the family last year and I would be surprised if you remembered names. Just be direct and ask who they are and how they fit into the family tree. No one will be offended.”

Carl grunted as he hefted the cooler onto the table.

“OK, got it,” he said as he scanned the group. There were about twenty people present. He wanted to ask about the protocol for “the reunion,” but before he could corner Helena she had moved on to help with the next job.

A woman’s voice carried over the commotion.

“Before it gets too hot, we’re going to start the volleyball game. Get over here so we can pick teams.”

It was like a bad high school scene. Two captains stood by the tent and alternated called on family members. Carl was the first one called, but he begged off, claiming he had a bad leg and did not want to injure it further. No one believed him but they did not push the issue, either.

“It looks like we’ve got teams of eight and nine. Six should be on the court for each point. You can trade players at any time between points. Match is best two out of three games, with each game going to fifteen points, win by two.”

There were nods all around. The two teams took their respective sides of the net and the game was soon in progress. Carl took a seat on a nearby folding chair under a tree. The server on the team nearest him kept looking back at him with unmasked lust in her eyes. He tried to smile and nod, but knowing what the reunion meant, he guessed that her stare was imagining him naked.

A voice said, “That’s my mom. She wants to fuck you.”

Carl startled. “Uhm,” he turned to see a very young-looking girl to his right.

She extended her hand. “I’m Molly. That’s my mom serving. She’s going to be pissed, but I’m going to fuck you first. I’m the youngest – just turned twenty-one – so I get first choice of partners this year.”

“And, uhm, you are thinking,” Carl was having a hard time stringing words together.