Chapter 1

It should have been a joyous time in my life.

I was an eighteen-year old high school graduate eager to start college in September. I was already approved for State and it would be my first taste of independence. True independence. I would live away from home in the school dorm. I would be an adult.

Oh, I had my tastes of "adult" independence already. I tried beer and even smoked a joint but I didn't care for either. I worked a part time job and kept good grades, so I demonstrated I was responsible. I slept with a couple of girls, so I was "adult" in that way also.

I had it all going for me.

Two days after my graduation, a drunken bastard t-boned my dad's car at eighty miles per hour in an intersection only three blocks from home. Dad was dead.

At Dad's funeral, I greeted the relatives on his side that I rarely saw. It was better described that I never saw them. I met a few of them only a couple of times in my eighteen years of life. In contrast, we visited with my mom's relatives all the time.

At the funeral, I met my Uncle Jake again. The last time I saw my Uncle Jake I was four, so I didn't remember him at all. He was Dad's brother and he looked a lot like Dad. He was very helpful and comforting to Mom. That was very nice of him.

It was a hard and lonely month of June. The house was so empty without Dad.

"Jason," Mom said in early July. "I want you to go to Dad's family reunion this year."

"What family reunion?" I asked. I never knew there was one.

"You didn't get to know Dad's side of the family much growing up and that's my fault. Your Dad never pushed it even though I knew he wanted to go. I'm sorry."

"That's okay," I said. I didn't miss what I didn't know about.

"I want you to know that Dad's family are good people. Don't think because we didn't see them very often that we didn't like them."

"What are you trying to say, Mom?" I said confused.

"I want you to go to the family reunion this year. They have a family community that my family doesn't have. You need your father's heritage."

"Okay, Mom," I said. Mom's side had its spats like anyone did but they got along overall. The way Mom spoke it almost sounded like we weren't normal. What could I get from Dad's side that I didn't already have?

"There's a special bond Dad has with all his relatives," Mom said. "Dad could have kept going to the reunion. I was okay if he wanted to go alone but he decided not to."

I had the distinct impression this was a confession, but I couldn't fathom what it was about.

Mom continued, "It was because of me. It shouldn't have mattered and it doesn't matter, but I let it matter." She looked directly in my face and smiled big. "It sure doesn't matter. I don't know why I couldn't deal with it but I couldn't. I am sure glad I have you."

"We can go to the reunion, Mom," I said when her eyes teared up.

"Just you," she corrected. "I talked to your Uncle Jake. He wants you to come and get to know everybody."

"Ummm... ," I said uncertainly.

"Uncle Jake is a good man. Your dad wanted more children and I enjoyed the time I had with..." She trailed off.

"What?" I wanted to know.

"Will you go to the family reunion? Please?"

"Sure, Mom." Why did Mom see it as so important?

"Don't worry. You'll understand. Finally."

Finally? What was there to understand? Why couldn't Mom tell me? She wasn't about to talk, so I didn't press her.

Mom explained that Dad's family took over a secluded campground every summer. The land was family-owned for several generations.

The directions Uncle Jake sent were very detailed which I was glad for because otherwise I would be lost in the wilderness to this very day. I was on a dirt road for the last half hour as I slowly ascended the mountain. How far was this place? I slowed down and came to a complete stop before the road went up a steeper incline. There was only one way to go. I slowly pressed the gas and made the climb. My rental vehicle had solid footing and easily went up.

The road leveled and the trees separated. I was in a clearing with a closed gate directly in front of me. I slowed down quickly. Two men at the gate got up from folding chairs and waved. I pulled to a stop and rolled down the window.

"Hey, there," one guy said when he came up to the window. He pulled on the driver's door handle but it was locked.

"Hi," I greeted back but disconcerted by the man's action. "I'm here for the family reunion."

"Of course you are," he said.

The other man approached. With surprise in his voice, he asked, "Is this your first time here?"

"Yeah," I said. "My mom wanted me to come and my Uncle Jake invited me to come."

"Jake's your uncle?" the first man said. "Who's your dad?"

"John Travis," I told.

"You're John's boy?" the second man said with vigor.

"Uh ... yes," I said. I didn't want any undo attention.

"Hey! Glad you're here!" said the second man. "I'm Roger Dawson. I'm Jake and John's cousin. Let me quickly explain what we do. Me and my brother Rich here..." He pointed at the other man. " ... are like parking valets. We put everyone's keys in a safe spot, so no one loses them. Ever lose your keys camping? It's a bitch."

"It's a courtesy thing," said Rich.

"Okay," I said and opened the door. "Let me get my bags."

"Rich will take care of that," said Roger. "Your bags will be in whatever tent you're sleeping in tonight. Tonight's assignments aren't finalized yet, but as soon as they are announced then each guy's stuff will be put in the right tent."

I stepped out of the car. I felt a little uneasy giving everything to these two guys but what could happen? We were in the middle of nowhere.

"I'll take you to see Jake," said Roger. "I'm sure he wants to greet you as soon as you are here."

Roger opened the gate enough so we could slip through. I turned back to the sound of my vehicle being moved. I saw glints of metal behind some trees so I deduced that was the parking area.

"This is paradise," Roger said and waved his hand in a circle.

Tents were arranged in a circle around the perimeter of the campground. These weren't your generic department store tents. These were very nice. One tent flap was open and I saw a woman inside reclining on a mattress. In the corner was a coffer maker. I half-wondered if the tents received satellite TV.

Roger led me to a wood building in the middle of the compound.

"This is the meeting hall and the bathrooms and the showers and the dining area. When we have group activities like eating, this is the place."

"So what's there to do here?" I asked.

"Well, people spend time in the tents."

"Reading?"

Roger chuckled. "I guess some do."

"Horseback riding?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah. We sure do like to horse around."

I decided not to follow up on his mishearing of my question.

A man came out of the building and Roger immediately said, "Hey, Jake! Look who's here! Your nephew, Jason."

"Jason!" Uncle Jake immediately said excitedly and pumped my hand vigorously in a firm handshake. "Glad you made it! Glad you came!"

"Hi, Uncle," I replied.

"Jake. There's no titles here. We are very informal." He turned to Roger. "Thanks."

"Sure thing," Roger said and left.

"So how was your flight, Jason, and the drive up?" Jake said rapidly.

"It was good. The directions were perfect."

"Good, good! So how's your Mom?"

"She's doing okay," I answered.

"I know it must be hard. I can't imagine losing my Caroline."

"So what happens here?" I asked. I hadn't seen much to do.

"What do you mean? Like events?"

"Yeah," I said. I didn't want to be bored for a week here.

"Not a thing," Jake responded. "Isn't that wonderful? We have from today until next Sunday morning to get to know each other and do whatever we want to do. A week of peace and relaxation. Start the day with a morning quickie I always say."

Oh, great! I was in a retirement center. They probably took three quickie naps a day.

"Let me introduce you to some folks," Jake said.

We entered the building. There were rows of rectangular tables and padded folding chairs. This obviously was the dining room and meeting room. A foursome of grandparent-type people played a card game at one table.

Oh, terrific! Where was the shuffleboard? Just wonderful!

Jake said, "This is Beth, my Dad's sister, so she's your grandpa's sister."

Okay, so she was my Dad's aunt.

"And her husband Don," Jake continued, "and this is Susan and Steve, Doreen's parents."

This was going to get confusing fast and I only met a few people so far.

Jake said, "This is Jason, my brother John's son."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad," Beth quickly said which then brought sympathy words from all of them.

I nodded politely.

Jake led me to the kitchen where I met some other older women in the kitchen. We next entered the rec room. I was very pleased to see a foosball table, ping pong, a pool table, and some other things to occupy my time. There were some teen guys and gals in the room. Some of the girls were cute. The girls might be a nice visual distraction for my week stuck here. Of course, they were all related to me in some manner so that was a bad thing.

"Jessica," Jake called out. A brunette girl stood up from the couch where she sat next to an older college age guy and came over. She looked to be about fourteen. "This is your cousin Jason."

"Glad to meet you," she said and limply shook my hand.

"Jason's eighteen."

"You're a virgin at eighteen!" she said shocked.

I was taken aback. "I'm not a virgin," I quickly and forcefully defended.

"It's your first time at the family reunion," Jake said. "We like to call new people 'virgins'."

Jessica was already bored with me so she returned to the guy on the couch. She plopped down on his lap and gave him a big kiss on the lips. My eyes bugged out. She was way too young for him.

"They're always on the list to be together for one of the nights," Jake said with an amused chuckle.

How could he watch his daughter kiss like that?

"List?" I asked as I hurried to catch up with him when he started to leave the room. "List?"

"Right, right. this is your first time. Sorry about that. Do you know anything about the family reunion, Jason?"

We stepped back outside. It was a beautiful sunny day and the temperature was perfect. The fresh air was invigorating. As much as I already dreaded spending a week here, the scenery and the pristine quality of nature were excellent.

"I didn't even know about this until Mom mentioned that you invited me to come."

"Your Dad or Mom never said anything? You never overheard anything?"

"Nothing," I confirmed.

"Your Dad planned to send you this year," Jake said. "Even before he died."

That was news to me. When was Dad going to tell me?

Jake's face became sad. "Jason, your dad John, my brother, was a good man. He was a great man. He stayed by your mom and he let her have her way. As tight as our family is he did the right thing by her. I don't know if I could do the same if I was in his shoes."

I didn't understand but I didn't know the right question to ask either.

"We missed John when he no longer came up here," Jake said.

"So why did he stop?" I asked.

"Like I said it was your mom. He respected her wishes. Your mom's first time at the reunion was right before their first wedding anniversary. Your mom was okay with it when she was here but when she returned home, she had second thoughts and when she found out..."

He stopped.

"Found out what?" I asked.

"Well, she never wanted to come here again."

I looked at him perplexed and confused.

He saw my face and said, "I'm not knocking your mom. Karen's a wonderful woman. She had a great time when she was here. You can ask her about it but it was her only time here. A lot of people feel like your Mom does."

"I think my mom regrets not coming more often," I said trying to be helpful.

"Does she?" said Jake surprised. "She's still welcome. She's still family."

"She wanted me to go by myself."

"Maybe she'll want to come to the reunion with you next year."

Come here next year? He had to be kidding. As nice a place as this campground was, there was still nothing to do here. How many times can one play foosball? No way would I be here. I knew it already.

"Maybe," I responded.

"Let me introduce you to my wife," Jake said.

We crossed the camp toward the far end. As we walked past a few tents, I heard moans emanate from one ahead of us. As we approached it, I heard words.

A woman's voice moaned out, "Yes! Oh, Yes! Yes, Ed! Oh, fuck yes."

I also heard male grunting. There was no mistake what was going on. Didn't they know tents gave no privacy?

I stopped when Jake halted in front of the moaning tent. No doubt he was going to tell them to keep quiet.

"Hey!" Jake yelled loudly. "When you have a moment, I want to introduce you to someone that I know you'll want to meet."

"Oh, yes. Oh, fuck!" the woman's voice continued.

"I think she's almost done," Jake explained to me.

I awkwardly stood with my uncle as the noises from inside the tent continued. How could he be so calm listening to this?

In a short time, the woman moaned repetitively, "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

There was a loud cry by the woman and a simultaneous gasping grunt.

A few seconds later, the woman yelled, "You still there Jake?"

"No hurry," Jake said. "Can't rush a good thing."

"You're so understanding," she replied. "That's why I married you."

What? I forgot Jake was introducing me to his wife. Did she just... ? And Jake... ? The answers were so unfathomable that I couldn't pose the questions.

The tent zipper opened and a woman's head popped out. Her face was sweaty and her dark brown hair was matted.

"Hi there!" she said and smiled at me.

I had the impression she was naked. I guess that was reasonable if she just...

"Caroline!" said Jake excitedly and interrupted my thoughts. "This is Jason, my brother John's son."

"You're Jason?" she said thrilled. "It's so great to meet you."

"Same," I said evenly.

"You look so much like your uncle," she said.

I looked at Jake then shrugged. I guess I would look like him a little since Dad and Uncle Jake were brothers.

"I'd greet you more formally," she said, "but since this is your first time I don't want to freak you out."

Too late. I was freaked out already by the fact my Aunt Caroline had sex with another guy and Uncle Jake was either oblivious or didn't say anything about it which would mean he was okay with it.

"I'll make sure he sits with us during dinner," said Jake.

"That'll be lovely," said Caroline. "I am so glad you are here."

She zipped up the tent and was gone visually. I heard her say, "You horny little devil. You wore me out. Go find someone else."